NEW FEATHERY NEIGHBORS

 

Across the way from our house, we have fairly new neighbors who have made many changes in their backyard. In the hills here, few of us have flat back yards. But this property does. And recently, coops were added to the yard. 

Personally, as someone who spent my first almost-five years on a farm, I like the sound of chickens. But then a rooster was added to our neighborhood...

 

At first it began to crow about 7 or 7:30. At the time, we were having fairly heavy marine layers in the morning and the sun didn't shine early. Then one morning, there was no cloud cover. It's summer. The rooster began his cock-a-doodle-dooing at 5:30. Hmmmm...

It wasn't long before some neighbor, closer to the coops than us, complained. A few days later, no crowing until 8 or 9ish.

And there was a gift bag on our back doorstep. Inside was a note saying that the rooster problem was hopefully solved. (They lay drapes over the rooster's home to fool him when the sun rises.) Also in the gift bag - a container with 6 fresh eggs! Nice...  And delicious!

LEARNING TO WRITE

Losing confidence, stuck on how to proceed with my novel, I returned to one of the first writing books I ever bought. After reading a few chapters of "IF YOU WANT TO WRITE, I was back on the writing wagon again.

 

FOR THOSE WHO NEED A NUDGE - 

For anyone who yearns to write, but doesn't know how to begin, I recommend this book.Originally published in 1935, it still speaks to people out there who want to write, are writing now, or have written in the past and want to get back to telling a story. You have to start somewhere. Ms. Ueland's oldie but a goodie book may help.

You may not be able to read the subtitle -"A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit."

A few months ago, struggling with my novel, I felt down, blue, hopeless, and all that jazz about my writing and my story. When I'm stuck on how to move on to the next scene, and negativity begins to overtake me, I usually open my Kindle and find a writing book that's helped me in the past. This time I looked on my shelf of writing books and Ueland's book caught my eye. I hadn't looked at it for at least a decade. Her words were magic medicine doses that urged me to carry on.

If you are afraid to begin writing, haven't written lately, or think it's time to put your life's story together for a friend, your children, your grandchildren, or to publish for the masses, Brenda Ueland's book is still available. It may get you going.

 

"HOW TO WRITE" BOOKS

There are tons of writing tomes out there. If I'm not working on my 1968 novel (working title, "With a Little Help..."), I may blog about a good one I recently discovered; it's about how to understand points of view in fiction. 

If you would like recommendations about writing books (or just wish to say hello) send me a message through the blog. 

 

Learning never ends. And that's good. 

 

Happy Reading and Writing! 

TRUTH OR FICTION?

  

I recently discovered two photos. Both are dated 1960. I was in third grade that school year, the year my parents and I moved from Silver Bay back to our farmhouse in Harris, Minnesota.  (About two months later we moved back to Silver Bay.) The pic above was taken at the farm. Soon after our move.  

Once Upon a Time... 

Years ago I was writing a memoir about the neighborhoods in my life, especially childhood years in Minnesota – including our family farm in Harris and our years in Silver Bay. Some of past blog entries were helpful as I put together material for the book.

A writer friend read a chapter or two of my stories, and told me I was wasting my time writing a bio -  since I wasn’t famous, who would read it? Her comment turned out all for the best. My favorite books when I was a kid were Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden mysteries.  I dreamed of writing a novel about girl detectives, and put my energy into writing my e-book The Missing Photo Mystery.

 

But now, after posting some childhood photos on Facebook, I’m tempted to return to my memoir. Have hundreds of printed pages still waiting in a file cabinet. But I’m unsure about the project. Not because I’m a non-famous person, but because I’m not sure about the truthfulness of my memory.  

 

The girl in the photo above doesn’t look like a miserable sad-sack to me.  But for years I knew I hated moving back to Harris. I knew my time there was dreadful - riding the bus to school in North Branch, being the new girl in class, living in a farmhouse without central heating. That’s the story I told myself. Here's the second photo I found.

 

I see the same happy girl. Both pics were shot at our farmhouse. I recognize the walls. The place and dates on photos are contemporaneous evidence of that time. 

 

Memory’s a Tricky Thing...

Can we always trust it? Or do we revise memories as time passes? I believe now it was a difficult year for my parents, not me. I’ve woven my parents’ anxiety at the time, and their fears and worries together with my own emotional memories. 

 

If I do return to writing a story about my life’s neighborhoods, I may have to shelf it with other fiction. And here's a possible opening line… “This is not a memoir.”