 To me, the best time to be a writer is before you sit down and write the story. I have taken to calling this the “honeymoon” period. Like a true honeymoon, it is a time of fun and joy and endless promise for a writer.
I been in this fun stage lately with a new historical romance series I am brainstorming. This is such an enjoyable time, because the story ideas are flowing and anything seems possible. The moment when all of the ideas start coalescing into a plausible story is magical. The ideas start flowing even faster then, which amps up my energy and enthusiasm to write. One could compare this to the moment in a wedding reception when you look at the happy young couple sharing their first dance and see their loving future glowing bright in their eyes. Later, when the laughing, excited couple runs to their car under a hail of rice to depart for their honeymoon, it lifts everyone around them. Somehow, you know they will have a great time on their trip and a wonderful life together afterward. This produces an extra level of energy in everyone waving good-bye. This is similar to the energy I get when dreaming up a new story. I suppose this zeal is intentional on my muse’s part. I will need this enthusiasm to carry me through the months of writing the first draft. In a marriage, once the honeymoon is over, it takes hard work and perseverance to keep the marriage healthy and moving forward. So it is with a new story. Sitting in front of the keyboard and typing the thousands of words necessary to keep the story moving forward is not nearly as much fun as partying somewhere exotic. So for now, I will enjoy the honeymoon. The real work of marrying an idea to my writing is yet to come. But I know I can make this relationship work, and get to that golden moment when I am able to type “The End” on what could be considered my story’s first anniversary. When that day comes, I will invite you to the “anniversary dinner” to celebrate it with me. In the meantime, check back to this blog for updates on my writing journey as I return from story honeymoon and get back to the hard work of making my writing marriage a success.
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I have another friend I would like to spotlight in my blog this week. I met Sara Dahmen (www.saradahmen.com) through our writing group. If I were creating a list of modern day Renaissance women, I would have to add her to the list. In addition to being a writer of adult and children’s books, she is also an artist, an artisan, and an entrepreneur. I don’t know how she finds the time to do it all, given she is also the mother of three small children, but she does all this plus is very involved in several organizations related to writing and books. And she is a genuinely nice person to boot.    Some of you may be thinking her name sounds familiar. Sara is the person who, while wearing her artisan metalsmith hat, created a custom cookie cutter for my mom. I don’t have a photo of the cutter yet to share with you, but do have something even better. Below are some photos of the hand-made copper cooking products Sara sells through her company (http://housecopper.com/) as well as through a network (http://www.housekeepercrockery.com/) she formed to include craftsmen selling hand-made cookware in various forms. If you value quality, hand-made cookware which hearkens back to an earlier century, then I think you will enjoy this. Settle back and admire what can happen when people strive to preserve our past. (Oh, and if you are thinking about Christmas presents, you could do worse than follow a link to one of her websites. Hint to my husband.) I hope you enjoy her work as much as I do. It is time again for “If These Walls Could Talk.” In honor of Halloween later this month, I decided to share a picture of a house which certainly looks as though it could be haunted.  This appears to have been a large, lovely home at one time. But unfortunately, it hasn’t been that for years. It has definitely fallen on hard times. Now, I think we are more likely to see a ghost flitting in and out the windows than to see a corporeal human walking in the front door.
What sort of ghosts do you think would live here? When I look at this picture, I hear children laughing as they run through the halls. I visualize a family gathering around a large table to share the events of their day while they eat supper. I would like to think any spirits present are happy residuals of the families who once lived here. Even though it is overgrown and barely standing, there is still something about this house which to me is more hopeful than haunted. I get the sense this house is wishing someone would rescue it from its current disrepair and make it a happy home again. What do you see when you look at this house? Does it speak to you, or is it too far gone for that? I am wondering what you think this house would say, If These Walls Could Talk. If you want to see some of the previous buildings used, you can find earlier blogs on my website. Also, if you have any suggestions for future buildings to blog about, I would love to hear from you. http://www.karenmarcam.com/contact.html |
AuthorI write historical fiction, and I invite you to share the journey to published author with me. Archives
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