I have a landscape-living view of my life. If you ask me what happened today, I'll tell you I dropped the kids off at school, went to the gym, came home and showered and sat down to write. The same as Friday. And Thursday. And Wednesday. And so forth.
I see my life in big sweeping pictures, broad strokes, and I often don't see the details that make my life different from anyone else's, or any day different than another.
This has become overly apparent through Twitter. While others seem to be able to endlessly narrate their days in humorous and delightful chunks of 140 letters or less. When I sit to update mine, all I can think is the same thing as every other update of mine... I'm sitting at the computer ready to write. Because when I twitter, that's what I'm doing.
But as I've gotten into my new book, I realize this book may have landscape photography in it, but the story is all about the macro. It's about seeing the tiny things we miss everyday because we are swept up in the larger things... or about seeing the details that make a person go off the edge one day, when seemingly that day is the same as any other.
It's important that she's had her plates for fifteen years and no one has a chip in it. It's important that she has conversations with her daughter where neither look each other in the eye as if they are both invisible. It's important that her husband falls asleep each night in the middle of their conversations. It's important that she tucks her hair behind her ears without noticing that she's doing it.
In a small thumbnail, this photo may look like a leaf with a water drop. Click on it and see the amazing world inside each of those drops. If you stop to look at droplets after the rain, if you tilt your head just the right way, get close enough, this is what you'll see. A world inside a world.
This is Riley's life. In the landscape of her life she is mom, a wife, a neighbor. In the macro, she is something no one bothers to take the time to see.
Until someone does. And that will change everything.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The New Book - scene 2
There's photography in the new book. I love that! I love that I get to mix my two passions, and have one of my main characters as passionate, and a bit as clueless, as I am about it. I expect there will be lots of researching involved as well, which I am excited about.
It's a great metaphor for the book as well. Everything else I've written I've started at the beginning and worked through to the end in one long sweep. This book is coming at me in snapshots. I have the entire book loosely plotted (until the characters take over, that is), but when I try to work through it chronologically, I am overtaken by scenes later in the book. The character, Riley, looks at life through the eyepiece of the camera in bits and pieces, seeing only what catches her interest, blocking the rest out. And so I see, clearly in my mind, exactly what bits and pieces of the story look like.
The structure of the book may very well end up following in Riley's snapshot lifestyle. Or eventually all the pictures may end up weaving themselves together in a beautiful mosaic to make a much larger picture.
In any case, it's a world I'm thrilled to get to live in every day alongside Riley. Not that the road won't be rough... not all photos are of beautiful things, and there are plenty of un-beautiful things about Riley's life. But overall, it' s going to be a real journey for both of us.
It's a great metaphor for the book as well. Everything else I've written I've started at the beginning and worked through to the end in one long sweep. This book is coming at me in snapshots. I have the entire book loosely plotted (until the characters take over, that is), but when I try to work through it chronologically, I am overtaken by scenes later in the book. The character, Riley, looks at life through the eyepiece of the camera in bits and pieces, seeing only what catches her interest, blocking the rest out. And so I see, clearly in my mind, exactly what bits and pieces of the story look like.
The structure of the book may very well end up following in Riley's snapshot lifestyle. Or eventually all the pictures may end up weaving themselves together in a beautiful mosaic to make a much larger picture.
In any case, it's a world I'm thrilled to get to live in every day alongside Riley. Not that the road won't be rough... not all photos are of beautiful things, and there are plenty of un-beautiful things about Riley's life. But overall, it' s going to be a real journey for both of us.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The New Book
I'm trying to focus more on writing the new book these days than blogging, even though I have lots of ideas to blog on. But for now, I need to focus on writing, on the new ideas that are taking root, and giving them a firm foundation to grow.
So for the next few days, instead of writing, I'm going to share a few images that are inspiring my writing, and maybe some of the music as well. The book is as much emotion and setting and mood as plot at this point.
So here is the first... a scene from Ventura, California, as taken by the phenomenal photographer, Amery Carlson.
So for the next few days, instead of writing, I'm going to share a few images that are inspiring my writing, and maybe some of the music as well. The book is as much emotion and setting and mood as plot at this point.
So here is the first... a scene from Ventura, California, as taken by the phenomenal photographer, Amery Carlson.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Snowed In
Last week the sun was out. The birds were singing. My crocuses and daffodils were poking their brave little heads out of the earth and looking around. It felt like spring. I started daydreaming about short-sleeved shirts and counting the weekends until the pool opens (eleven). Despite the fact that it was barely finishing February, winter had been fickle this year, and as it seemed done with me, I was glad to shake the dust off and move forward.
Then this morning I woke up and BAM! This is what I saw out the window.
Snow day for everyone!
No running today. No writing, either. But lots of coffee and some serious shoveling of our 300 foot driveway. And some sledding and a few random snowballs. But mostly coffee and shoveling.
I realize fully that our wimpy six inches is nothing for many people. Someone in Michigan reminded me that they've gotten over 100 inches so far this year. Us? Well... about eleven with this snowfall. So I want to tell her, yeah - but did you get half of that all at once???
Seriously, we don't have the right equipment to deal with the snow... we have tons of back roads and non paved roads, and there is always inevitably a half inch of ice under all that snow that can't be merely plowed to the side.
So all you people who want to joke about how backwards and soft we are to cancel school and offices and governments for six inches of snow (with ice!), you can keep your tough-it-out, never-close-down culture. We'll take our enthusiastic snow days. With some really hot coffee on the side.
Then this morning I woke up and BAM! This is what I saw out the window.
Snow day for everyone!
No running today. No writing, either. But lots of coffee and some serious shoveling of our 300 foot driveway. And some sledding and a few random snowballs. But mostly coffee and shoveling.
I realize fully that our wimpy six inches is nothing for many people. Someone in Michigan reminded me that they've gotten over 100 inches so far this year. Us? Well... about eleven with this snowfall. So I want to tell her, yeah - but did you get half of that all at once???
Seriously, we don't have the right equipment to deal with the snow... we have tons of back roads and non paved roads, and there is always inevitably a half inch of ice under all that snow that can't be merely plowed to the side.
So all you people who want to joke about how backwards and soft we are to cancel school and offices and governments for six inches of snow (with ice!), you can keep your tough-it-out, never-close-down culture. We'll take our enthusiastic snow days. With some really hot coffee on the side.
Friday, February 27, 2009
It's Friday; It's a Good Thing
It finally happened!!
I got to the end of last week's Entertainment Weekly today, and I HADN'T READ THE BOOK SECTION!!
Of course - curse those Oscars - the book section was inordinately minuscule and pretty boring.
But still, I never thought it would actually happen. And oh happy day... another one shows up tomorrow!
I got to the end of last week's Entertainment Weekly today, and I HADN'T READ THE BOOK SECTION!!
Of course - curse those Oscars - the book section was inordinately minuscule and pretty boring.
But still, I never thought it would actually happen. And oh happy day... another one shows up tomorrow!
It's a Book Thing
So I read Kerri's blog, and just by opening it up, apparently, I was tagged. So if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged. In her words, I'll show you mine, then you show me yours.
My bookshelf, that is. I think the rule is this: take a picture of the shelves on your bookshelf... no cheating and rearranging, straightening them up, or stocking them with more impressive reads. It is what it is.
First, a photo of part of my library. To give you a hint of why it was hard to pick a shelf. This is about a third of it:
As for the shelves, I picked four (in two shots). They are the shelves I've used most recently. I think I've read all of the books on them, mostly in the last year or two.
Okay, now your turn.
My bookshelf, that is. I think the rule is this: take a picture of the shelves on your bookshelf... no cheating and rearranging, straightening them up, or stocking them with more impressive reads. It is what it is.
First, a photo of part of my library. To give you a hint of why it was hard to pick a shelf. This is about a third of it:
As for the shelves, I picked four (in two shots). They are the shelves I've used most recently. I think I've read all of the books on them, mostly in the last year or two.
Okay, now your turn.
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