May 25, 2009

Happy Memorial Day to everyone! How much we owe to those who fought (and sometimes died) to ensure our freedoms. May we not take them for granted!

On the Home Front

Well, it’s official. I heard recently that my daughter will be heading back to Iraq in September for her third deployment there. She just returned from Iraq in December, and I’ve hardly caught my breath before it’s time to brace myself to say good-bye again.

Why so soon? Laurie was pulled from her military police unit last time to accompany a medical unit. Her MP unit stayed in the States. Now it’s the MP’s time to go, and as their leader, she’s choosing to return with them. She could have refused since she just got back, but … (“Mom, some of them are so young,” she explained at the ripe old age of just-turned-thirty.)

“Oh Say, Can You See…?”

Thank you to all of you who have given time to serve our country, to those of you with loved ones in the military (past and present), and to those of you whose family members gave the ultimate sacrifice. I feel your pride. Because of their courage, we are, as we sang in church yesterday, the “land of the free and home of the brave.”

God bless you all.

May 15, 2009

Surprise! I just returned from ten days in England!

We visited homes of famous authors, Chepstow and Goodrich castles, the Tintern Abbey ruins, Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, and Oxford. We hiked in Wales along the Wye River, rode trains, navigated the Underground in London, and learned to drive on the left side of the road. My absolute favorite times were visiting Jane Austen’s homes in Bath and Chawton Village, plus a 90-minute private tour of C.S. Lewis’ home by the wonderful warden of The Kilns. (More about the Lewis home later.)

Our super-generous children gave us plane tickets to the U.K. last year for our annivesary, and I planned and saved for this trip all year. I didn’t mention it before we left because I’d heard that burglars were high tech now and read blogs to find out when people would be leaving their homes unattended. I left my computer behind, and a friend posted my pre-written blog entries. (Thank you, Joanna!) I didn’t even check email when gone. I wanted to immerse myself in the worlds of Jane Austen and C.S. Lewis–and it was pure heaven on earth.

Kinship of Writers

Jane’s home in Chawton was where she revised Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice for publication. Here she also wrote Emma, Persuasion, Mansfield Park and part of another novel before becoming ill. After visiting Jane’s house in Chawton, I felt a kinship with her. She lived in the kind of home I would have loved (see below): several hundred years old, two stories, cozy fireplaces in every room, big flower and vegetable gardens, set on a cobblestone street lined with tiny shops and thatched-roof cottages.

Her writing desk (above–seen behind glass) was tiny. I was struck by the contrast between her small desk, just big enough for her paper and ink well, and my two desks back home covered with computers, printers, books, notebooks, and assorted junk. Jane had no shelves of how-to writing books, no writing room of her own, no Internet or cell phone.

She wrote in the mornings, after breakfast, before helping her mother and sister with household tasks or visiting or entertaining numerous nieces and nephews. She put her writing first in her day, before it got taken over by friends or family or other obligations. There was a lesson for me!

She also wrote about what she knew and experienced–and what interested her–despite pressure from her publisher to write what would make more money. They wanted gothic and historical romances, not her “simple little stories” about her everyday village life and how several families affected each other. (Remember: although her books are historical to her present-day fans, she was writing contemporary fiction.) Her heroes and heroines who learned about their character flaws and overcame them–like Darcy’s pride and Lizzie’s tendency toward hasty judgments–were considered too tame for the reading public.

Write Your Passion

I loved reading Jane’s responses to the publisher’s pressure. Her replies (there were photocopies of her letters) basically said that she could only write what they wanted if she were literally starving, and even though historical romances might be more popular or profitable than her “domestic stories of country villages…I would be hung before I could finish the first chapter…No, I must keep to my own style and go on in my own way, though I may never succeed again.” Wouldn’t that same publisher be astounded today to see the thousands of fans who still flock to the Jane Austen walking tours in Bath, the Jane Austen Centre, and her home in Chawton, who buy her books and watch movies made of them? Isn’t there a lesson for all writers here?

Perhaps this is what Jane was thinking when she wrote (in Mansfield Park): “We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.”

(I hope this blog makes sense. I’ve been up since 2 a.m. My body still thinks it’s in England–or wishes it was!)

May 11, 2009

Wouldn’t you love to know the “story behind the story” of your favorite novels? When you finally finish a “can’t put it down” story, don’t you wonder how the author came up with such a fascinating idea?

Wonder no more! At Backstory blog, you can read dozens of fascinating backstories behind some adult and YA novels of all genres. Notice how often the kernels of the stories were lifted directly from the authors’ real lives. In many, many cases, they followed the tried-and-true adage of “write what you know.”

That was the starting point–and then they played the other tried-and-true game of “What if?” Plot twists and turns soon multiplied.

Please note: these authors didn’t do anything that YOU can’t do as well.

If you’re stuck for story ideas–or wondering how your life events, feelings, and background can be grist for the writing mill–check out this blog. You may just get a few flashes of insight after reading the “where do you get your ideas?” posts at Backstory.

May 8, 2009

My weekend gift to you today is a link to another website featuring “100 Killer Blog Posts to Help You Achieve Your Dreams.” The articles are divided into categories, from motivation and goals to attitudes and fitness. Are you having trouble being motivated to pursue the goals you set for 2009? Then look no further!

Sometime this weekend, get a good cup of coffee and put your feet up, either at home or your local Border’s or B & N cafe, and soak up the collective wisdom.

And have a terrific weekend!