#Am Reading Other Writers

To the writers out there I ask, “Do you read other writers’ works  without being asked?  Why do you read them?  Is it because everybody else is reading those books? Or do you take a chance and pick books at random?  Someone recently said, “If you read what everybody else is reading, you will think what everybody else is thinking.”

I’m simply curious!  These are some of my reasons for reading others’ works:

• I want to stay positively engaged and reading relaxes me.
• I read different authors’ works but I do limit my genres and steer away from being too alarmed or horrified.
• Reading opens my mind to a variety of topics, settings and scenarios.
• It allows me to study other writers’ writing styles. I notice their uses of language, vocabulary, colloquialisms, puns, metaphors, similes or whatever literary elements they happen to use.
• Lately, I have been reading less chick-lit and I am making a conscious effort to read more works written by men. It helps me to understand how they think so when I do attempt to write in a male voice,  I hopefully sound more believable.
• Reading others’ books gives me new perspectives as I chew, digest and ponder what has been written.
• It expands my thinking and others’ writings transport me to places that I would never visit on my own volition.
• Ultimately, I have more to write about when the muses inspire me to put pen to paper.

On rare occasions, I will read a book that is wildly popular but I do not choose books from the Bestsellers’ List.  However, I read The Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance during the Fourth of July weekend. When I posted my online review, I could not believe the huge number of people who were also posting their opinions about the book at that same time.

I normally choose random books which some may consider to be ‘off the beaten path.’  I  find my treasures either on the public library’s New Book Shelf or from a used bookstore.  Yet, every book I read impacts me in some way.

Some aperture is opened. Some new slant is gained and some veil is pierced after completing each book or story.  Oodles of enlightenment rain down because every work somehow changes me as it opens up new worlds of thought and wider points of view.

Charles de Gaulle said, “Don’t ask me who’s influenced me.  A lion is made up of the lambs he’s digested and I’ve been reading all of my life.”

So writers, I ask, “What do you gain from reading others’ books?”

Lynn M.                                                            July 29, 2017

How is Your Summer Going?

I had to pause and ask myself, “How is my summer going?”  Initially, I can say, things are going well even though no big trips have been planned. Honestly, I must admit that I do not want to be standing in a line at an airport trying to get through security nor waiting to board a flight.

Nowadays, after I do board the flight, I would have to go into immediate prayer mode and hope that no one loses self-control while flying mid-air.  It may sound comical but in reality, it would be quite unnerving.

After checking into a hotel, I do not want to meditate for calm because the wait staff did not bring back any face cloths or towels or she might choose to ignore the DO NOT DISTURB sign and knock anyway because she wants to finish her rounds. Needless to say, these are scenarios that I have experienced while traveling.

At this juncture, I am having a stay-cation and I must admit that it has been rather nice.  I have been able to sleep later and have breakfast sitting close to the scenic lakefront.  I can think and reflect as I look out over the great yonder at God’s beatific bounty.

I just finished writing a book which is the final installment in a series and I have written a few blog posts.  I have found some more creative ways to market my books and I have read books which have allowed me to study other authors’ writing styles.

I have traveled to the Pacific Northwest through reading Summer Island and Distant Shores both by Kristin Hannah.  Mary Higgins Clark gave me a look into the private lives of George and Patsy (Martha) Washington in her Mount Vernon Love Story.  J. D. Vance shared his Appalachian background in The Hillbilly Elegy.  I privately chuckled because his sharp-shooting grandmother reminded me of some of my relatives.

I have had a few very special outings.  I went to see a play called Pamplona about Ernest Hemingway and I visited a dear friend who happens to live in a neighborhood where I had my first apartment and the place of my humble beginnings.  Our rich laughter and my simple remembrances of days gone by helped me draw a valid conclusion. I would say that my summer is going, “Pretty darn good, all things considered.”

I am now engaged in Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander.  O’Brian’s British Naval Lieutenant Jack Aubrey is about to set sail on a sloop called Sophie.  He has his men in place and the supplies are all stocked as they are about to embark out onto the high seas during a war with Napoleon.  Oh boy!

So, I ask, “How is your summer going?”

Lynn M.                                                                         July 23, 2017

The Breakers

Excerpt from:  Boston and Beyond:  Tyre & Phoenix

The first tour ended and after a short drive away, they were let off of the bus to enter The Breakers. It was a huge house that sat back on a sprawling lawn and the rear of the house faced the ocean. They were told that it had 34 bathrooms but of course, the tourists would only be allowed to see parts of the house. As Phoenix moved through the house, she thought, “Now this is really high end.”

They had brochures to guide them so they would know what they were viewing. In the Guest Bedroom, Phoenix noticed a two-headed chaise that she fell in love with. She thought, “If it was just a little longer, I could see me and Tyre sitting on this having a real heart to heart talk. If only…” she thought.

There was a Morning Room that was decorated in pink. There were pink draperies, a pink settee and a huge vase of fresh flowers. Phoenix could see how this room would be a great way to start any day. According to the brochure, she saw that eight of the Nine Muses were painted in oil on silver leafs. There was so much to see and she continually took notes while others just moved along quietly. She had to remember what she had seen and this was the best way for her to commit it to memory.

Lynn M.                                                                                                                   July 22, 2017

The Orchard House

From: Boston and Beyond:  Tyre & Phoenix

Phoenix saw the large brown clapboard-type structure and the colorful sign let her know that she had arrived at the home of Alcott family. It was not quite time for the tour to begin so she went into the bookstore and made a few purchases.  

She went out into the garden and sat on an empty bench. Fortunately for her, she was alone. The flowers were in bloom and she breathed deeply as she concentrated on writing a quick message to her mother on a pretty postcard that she had bought. She knew that this card would mean a lot to her mother because she used to read parts of Little Women to Phoenix when she was growing up. Those visions of the family stayed with Phoenix and though she liked all of the girls, she most identified with the spunky Jo.

Phoenix’s time in this peaceful space helped her to envision what life must have been like during that era. She checked her watch after a while and saw that it was time for the tour. She entered The Orchard House and stood in a group of about seven tourists.

There was a piano in the living room and Phoenix imagined an amiable family that functioned in myriad ways. The girls had active imaginations and often put on plays and dressed in costumes. The docent showed them the couch where Louisa May wrote.

She was said to be temperamental and when she did not want to be disturbed, she sat the couch pillow up in a certain position and others knew not to speak to her. She would write for eight to nine hours non-stop and when one hand was tired, she used the other one. As it turned out, her writings sold and she became the family breadwinner though it later took its toll on her health.

Lynn M.                                                                                                             July 19, 2017

The Marble House

From Boston and Beyond: Tyre & Phoenix

Phoenix was looking at the picturesque town of Newport and she could see why it was considered to be a resort town. She saw Bellevue Avenue and huge homes stretched out along the way. The bus pulled up and stopped when the driver said, “We will go into The Marble House first. The tour is about an hour and half so I hope you have on some comfortable shoes,” he joked.

They went from room to room and there were several other people along with those on her tour bus. The tour was heard through an audio recording but Phoenix still tried to capture as many notes as possible. She heard that over 11 million dollars had been spent on marble to decorate this magnificent structure.

They started with The Salon which was very fancy and some of the decorations and the furnishings were modeled from Paris’ Versailles and Louvre. Most of the furniture in the room was upholstered in bright raised gold fabric. The Gothic Room had stained glass windows and a memorable fireplace setting. Fresh flowers were placed around to give the tourists the feel for what everyday life was like for The Vanderbilts during their summer stay.

Lynn M.                                                                                                                     July 15, 2017

Hemingway in Oak Park!

 

 

 

 

From:   Boston and Beyond: Tyre & Phoenix

Phoenix entered Oak Park and found parking on the street across from the museum. She gathered her things, made sure that she locked the car and crossed the street. She noticed the three oblong green banners that hung outside the museum bearing his name and picture. She knew that she was in the right place as she headed up the steps. Once inside, she paid the entry fee to the museum itself and also paid for a tour to his boyhood home which was about a block away.

She went into the museum and the woman working at the desk told her that it would take several visits to see all of the Hemingway artifacts. She saw several displays like one of his typewriters, pictures from different parts of his life, and newspaper clippings. She could hear his voice in the background which was obviously from one of his interviews. When she turned one corner, she saw old movie reels of men fighting in a battle during World War I.

The Hemingway Foundation had done a remarkable job of preserving his legacy and Phoenix agreed that she would need to make more visits to see it all. There were huge Hollywood posters which had advertised movies that had been made into film based on Hemingway’s books. She saw pictures of legends like Gary Cooper, Clark Gable and Rock Hudson. Phoenix sighed, “What a life!”

                                                        

 

Lynn M.                                                                                        July 11, 2017

Where do you write?

Do you have a specific place where you jot down your ideas?  Some writers dutifully write at their desks and tap out what they need to put down.  Ideally, this is perfect, but sometimes my ideas will not wait until I reach that designated writing space.

While driving, my ideas may start to flow.  I have had to pull over to a safe spot and capture them before they evaporated into thin air.  Or, I have conducted a quick map search to locate the closest public library.  I’ve gone inside, found a big sturdy table and wrote until I had no more to say at that point. On planned writing days, I often drive to the lakefront and write in my car or write while I sit close to the water while listening to the calming waves.

Writing is a solitary enterprise and the slightest disruption can sometimes halt the entire process.  But good writers can tune out a lot of things.  Actually voices, laughter or men working can serve as incentives. Those sounds can act as a backdrop to life’s movements and contribute to describing a scene.

Like prayer, there is nothing neither boastful nor showy about the writing process.  The Bible speaks of the hypocrisy of public prayer and how men should not pray ‘to be seen of men.’  Most writers write out of the view of others and many live like hermits  They want to share their final products with the world, but the actual process is often done in private hovels.

The writer just needs to empty the mind of those dammed up ideas and let them flow out into the universe.  Sometimes it can wait until a specific place is reached but the overflow can happen anywhere. Those ideas are like jumping fish and the net has to be flung or cast out to catch as many of them as possible. Otherwise, some other writer may be the first to put them in a more marketable form.

Where do you write?

Lynn M.                                                                                                     July 8, 2017

 

 

The Public Garden

Excerpt from:  Boston and Beyond: Tyre & Phoenix     

They walked northward and waited to cross Arlington Street when they had the light. They entered The Public Garden. They both paused and looked up. There sat a huge statue of George Washington sitting on a life-sized horse. It was mounted very high and could not possibly be missed by anyone.

“This is absolutely awesome.” His voice sounded like that of a little boy.

“And look how they added birds to his hat,” added Phoenix.

Just as they were taking pictures, the blackbirds flew away. They looked at each other with their mouths open. She started, “I thought that they…”

“Were a part of the statue,” he finished.

She looked at her notes and said, “Thomas Ball built the model and T.H. Bartlett sculpted this bronze piece during the Civil War.” They laughed and took several pictures and headed north to walk across the decorative footbridge. They held hands as they saw The Swan Boats, the beautiful willow trees and even more statues. People were everywhere enjoying the sunny Sunday.

 

Lynn M.                                                                                                     July 1, 2017

 

Sweltering July!

Sparkly fireworks in the air,
Joyous laughter. Little care.

Vacations here. Time to play,
Enjoy that hot summer day.

Family, friends all around!
Swaying music. Love that sound.

It’s hot sweltering July,
Live each day. Let out a sigh!

Lynn M.                                                                          July 1, 2017