So I finished 'The Book Thief' and have started Kathryn Stockett's 'The Help' a confection of my favorite kind: literature of the American South. This one started in early 1960's Jackson, Mississippi. (Or, Mi-ssippi, in the slow drawl of the characters.) I adore fiction about the South: the descriptions of weather, flora, and fauna; the written dialect; completely off-the-wall characters; funny turns of phrase. It's all so lush, rich, and languid. It even makes this life-long New Englander slow down just a touch. Truman Capote, Rebecca Wells, Carson McCullers, Kaye Gibbons, the goddess Eudora Welty...they are all masters of the genre.
Here's the really sad part: I've never been south of the Mason Dixon line!
It's my favorite genre of literature, and I have zero experience with the actual region. Even my precious DOG is technically from Alabama. She's been down South, y'all, but me...not so much.
Time to get cracking on some travel plans, mayhaps? Or would I be terribly disappointed by the reality of something that I enjoy so much on the page? (Putting aside the obvious negative issues around race and discrimination. That is NOT entertaining or romantic, and I don't mean to imply any endorsement of such!)
Perhaps I should ease into it, and start in the Carolinas rather than head straight to Tennessee...
What do you think, readers?
And do pick up a Southern writer if you haven't: it's a perfect antidote to the February malaise. Start with Capote's 'The Grass Harp'.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
My Friends are Real Characters
I can't count how many times I have listened to a friend's anecdotes, stories, adventures, or philosophy, and said 'I couldn't make that ind of stuff up!' And then I grapple with the ethical question: since I like my friends, and they are so interesting, is it OK to turn them into characters in something I write? Do I have to tell them first? And then, is it less 'creative writing' and more simply documenting their stories? Is it flattering, embarrassing, or cheating?
What do you think, readers?
What do you think, readers?
Monday, February 8, 2010
Legacy: Dead or Alive?
I've been consumed lately by worrying about my 'legacy'. As a single with no designs on having children (why would I? My dog is perfect!) I wonder what I'll leave 'behind' as a legacy. Of course, a giant body of amazing literature would be great, but that's a stretch. I need something more realistic to wrap my head around, to feel like my being alive served some sort of purpose.
But I've been thinking: perhaps my legacy isn't something I'll leave behind, but rather the difference that I can make in people's live NOW, today. Small acts of courtesy, thoughtfulness, acknowledgement...maybe that's what I am here to do. Maybe making small differences in people's everyday lives is enough of a legacy. After all, what does it matter to me how I am remembered when I am gone...I'll be gone!
I heard it put best like this: try to be someone's miracle. You never know what's going on in other people's lives, and someone can be having the worst, difficult, trying day of their lives. That one small gesture, kindness, smile, whatever, might be the the best thing that happens in that person's day. What a gift, to be responsible for making a difference to someone else.
Readers? Do you worry about such things?
But I've been thinking: perhaps my legacy isn't something I'll leave behind, but rather the difference that I can make in people's live NOW, today. Small acts of courtesy, thoughtfulness, acknowledgement...maybe that's what I am here to do. Maybe making small differences in people's everyday lives is enough of a legacy. After all, what does it matter to me how I am remembered when I am gone...I'll be gone!
I heard it put best like this: try to be someone's miracle. You never know what's going on in other people's lives, and someone can be having the worst, difficult, trying day of their lives. That one small gesture, kindness, smile, whatever, might be the the best thing that happens in that person's day. What a gift, to be responsible for making a difference to someone else.
Readers? Do you worry about such things?
Sunday, February 7, 2010
No Excuses!
I have been quiet for far too long (well, I suppose that depends on whether you think I have something worth saying) and with no good excuse. I had a sick spell, sure, but who hasn't this season. Work got really busy. So what? Personal issues...aren't those exactly the things that inform writing in the first place?
Thank you, followers, for being there for me and continuing to encourage me. It's a good reminder that if I really have 'write that damn novel' as a goal, I have to commit to it each day, regardless of the life's obstacles, intrusions, interruptions, and demands. Only my own lack of commitment can cause me to fail.
Onward and upward, and back to regular notes to you all!
As for my reading life, nearly finished with 'The Book Thief'. Next up, Mary Karr's latest installment in her memoir series, 'Lit'. What are you reading?
Thank you, followers, for being there for me and continuing to encourage me. It's a good reminder that if I really have 'write that damn novel' as a goal, I have to commit to it each day, regardless of the life's obstacles, intrusions, interruptions, and demands. Only my own lack of commitment can cause me to fail.
Onward and upward, and back to regular notes to you all!
As for my reading life, nearly finished with 'The Book Thief'. Next up, Mary Karr's latest installment in her memoir series, 'Lit'. What are you reading?
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