Driving Miss Carole

E.L. Doctorow once said that, "Writing is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." Those of you who know me well know that I can’t drive well at night. I have to stick to city roads where the street lights counteract my night blindness. Even so, this quote appeals to me, especially right now. I can’t see the end of the journey; geez, I don’t even know for sure if I’m making the journey! The publishing world is a fickle friend. There are obstacles and road blocks in my way that weren’t there before. For the first time ever, I have a bit of a writing block, perhaps from a lack of confidence. But like the driver, making her way through the dark night, I don’t have to see the end of the road. I can summon enough courage and determination to go to the end of my headlights by opening my computer and plodding along until the ideas that need to come, do come. I have people all along the way (with flashlights) cheering me on as if this was a marathon—and it is! But I can treat it as a sprint. Just go to that corner. Okay, now to the next watering spot. Head around the curve and enjoy that spot of shade. Onward! Ignore the runners passing you all around and run your own race. Hmmm, somehow this has turned into a foot race instead of a night time cruise! I’m not a runner either! But the truth is that the journey is the same whether on foot or in a car. You have to keep going, a little bit of the time, slowly but surely, if you want to get to your destination. When I drive at night, I’m really, really slow. I don’t usually subject passengers or other drivers to the torture of that unhappy circumstance. I stay in town or catch a ride with a fellow traveler. This time, however, I think the situation calls for a more adventurous spirit. I’m going to get a monster truck with giant wheels and the latest headlight technology. That way if I can’t see, I can just run over whatever obstacles are in my way! How do you overcome discouragement? Other than by consuming massive amounts of chocolate :) Do tell…

Do We Really NEED libraries?!

I read something this morning on Facebook posted by Book Riot that has me thinking dark thoughts. They quoted a rant against libraries by children’s book author Terry Deary. ( http://bookriot.com/2013/02/19/when-authors-attack-libraries-a-gif-response/) He spoke out in favor of closing libraries in order to save money. He declares that no one expects to be given a free ticket to the movie or a concert or any other form of entertainment, so why should books be free? He says authors and agents and publishers have to eat. He also points out that bookstores are going under because “libraries are cutting their throats.” And authors who support libraries are helping them do it. Wow. Even though some of these things are true, I can’t imagine a writer feeling this way. I was as excited that my book was going to be on the shelf in the library as I was for it to be on the shelf at Barnes & Noble! Yes, my last post was a farewell to the bookstore where I worked for fifteen years because they’re going under—but mostly because of online sales, not libraries. Libraries and book stores have coexisted happily for decades. Maybe it’s silly nostalgia, but I still remember getting my first library card. Back then they were paper instead of plastic, but the material doesn’t matter—it’s the feeling of walking in and being surrounded by all those WORDS and SENTENCES and PARAGRAPHS and PAPER and INK! It was carrying out a pile of books in the form of fuel for my imagination and letting it soar. To me libraries are practically holy places—with a little “h”. Even though I can relate a bit to Mr. Deary’s pain, I can’t agree with the idea of closing libraries to save money. Let’s just close minds to ideas while we’re at it, and we can all think alike, think what we’re told to. Then we won’t even need books at all! What do you think? To borrow or not to borrow—this is the question.

There’s a bit of a bird theme in UNITY, the second book of the Dark Light Dance Trilogy. This is probably because I love birds and often watch them outside my window while I’m writing. One thing I’ve noticed is that birds eat in groups. One chickadee lands on the feeder. Within seconds, there’s another. Then a cardinal. Then a titmouse, a sparrow, a wren, a finch... Before long they’re swooping and diving, taking turns at one feeder or another, or having a sip of water at the bird bath. How like birds we are at times—we wait for someone else to try something first. When it looks like it’s safe, we venture out. There’s safety in numbers. Yet, writing is a solitary quest. Sometimes, we can hash out ideas along the way if we have someone patient enough to put up with our mental meanderings. Most of the time, though, we go to the feeder alone. We carry off a seed of an idea, crack it open, munch on it awhile and digest it. Sated, back in our nest, we sink into the refuge of creativity, feathering our nest with made up characters that seem just as real to us as our family and friends. Then when those family or friends interrupt us, it’s a bit of a shock reentering the real world. Ah, that literary refuge of writing or reading books! I love analogies. What is yours about the writing refuge?