This is a reposting of an earlier post on the folk tales and others from Laura Gonzenbach‘s collections and seemed a good one to follow on the heels of earlier notes. I also want to reference another post on the banished bride I wrote about earlier this year — a variant of the women below. […]
The Rejected Brides of Folk Tales. Read More »
Yes, I have been a bit more absent these days. It has been a summer of travel to see my children and especially my beautiful granddaughter. And because we drive, rather than fly, these are long days on the road through some of the most beautiful and myth-making countryside. A return home is always jarring,
On the Road For A While Read More »
I am rather in love with this painting of the Women's Regatta in Venice by Gabriele Bella, 1730-1799 (click on for a larger view). I had no idea that women were accomplished rowers, though it does on reflection make a certain amount of sense. If one lives on the waters and the canals, or course
Tearing Up The Canals: The Women’s Regatta in Venice, 18th Century Read More »
I realized in the middle of the night that everything I had imagined about the plot structure of Three Sisters was insufficient unto the task. I had assumed I could move from one sister's narrative to another, forming discreet and somewhat separate interludes. But, I realized as I turned over on the pillow that If
A Middle of the Night Meeting With the Commedia Read More »
The maze of Labirinto in The Innamorati (and reappearing in Zizola’s story) is a work of alchemy and fantastic art. It has an organic nature, the twisting pathways lined with walls of densely packed trees. From the outside, it appears solid, immutable. But once inside, it expands and contracts, and once on the path, one
Fantastic Life in the Maze Read More »
Yes…because sometimes writing just feels like this, right before working, in the middle of working, and for the rest of the day after working. It's not scary — but adjustments do have to be made. Probably better not to do anything involving knives or automobiles. Véronique La Perrière M., Dissolution et recommencement (swan), 2011.
Letting Go When Writing Read More »
I was immediately drawn to these two fabulous images from Finnish artist Samuli Heimonen because they remind me of how I feel when I am in that gestating almost there stage of writing. The first is called "Hiding Place" — where story hangs out, where my confidence hangs out, where anticipation hangs out. It feels
Hiding While Thinking About Writing Read More »
Penelope Writes to Odysseus I am still in awe of these amazing little Medieval illustrations of the classical Greek and Latin heroines of Ovid writing imaginary epistles. Ovid’s work was translated into French by poet Octavien de Saint-Gelais, and it so delighted Louise of Savoy (1476-1531), mother of the future king Francis I of France,
When Heroines Write Their Own Stories Read More »
I seem to be pulled in too many different directions to get much done on the blog…but one thing I have to say, is how much amazing art I have been collecting to keep my thoughts cooking with the novel. Sometimes, that's the best I can do for a while, build up an interior vision
Sometimes the Best Part About Writing a Book is First Collecting All the Art Read More »
Have you even noticed how it feels like your characters are peering over your shoulder as you write? Making sure, no doubt, that you will properly represent them. So many authors have written on that weird sensation that characters take over one’s life, that they refuse certain manipulations, that they interrupt the flow of writing
I’m Being Watched: Characters Weigh In on the Progress Read More »
