After five or six weeks of 30s Celsius and ultimately fires, temps are down and here cometh the rains. It is however startling to get up at 5:30 AM and find darkness after all those months of light.
As for thrift store news, we have a beautiful wood framed chair with firm cushions and when you sit you sort of drop. They were happy to get our old sofa. House furniture is way too big for apartments. So now, another couple of chairs….
NOTEBOOK SAYS
Have you ever gotten out of bed in the middle of a hot summer night and looked outside? That allowed me to see, as I record in HowMaster, the neighbour’s white cat prowl under the moon. I watched for a time as it cavorted and played and then the next morning it was dead. Try it. Write what you see.
On another night in another house I saw a heap of dirt piled in the back yard likely left behind by the landlord. A full moon spilled over it and a novel was born. When it was done so was I, still new at novel writing and thinking a first draft makes a finished work. Not. I learned that a writer has to edit a few drafts before a novel is finished. Characters and parts of the setting however went into When Again This Way I Walk. All of that born from looking out a nighttime window.
ART CORNER
Back to getting up to look outside at the night. Sketch what you see or what you saw in another time of window-vision. If you are lucky enough to catch a raccoon or two as they cavort under the moon – that moon again! – among trees on the lawn, sketch their antics. Mine fooled around under a locust tree and then shot straight up the one next to it. They inspired me to write “Raccoon Writer.” You could sketch a series of night lifes and paint those.
If you want to photograph your subjects and work later from those make sure your flash is off in case an unseen bad sort is out there and does not want their picture taken.
BOOKS
When Again This Way I Walklindagigliottiwriter.com – Linda M. Gigliotti’s writings:
The lives of 1870’s Julia and modern Andie touch as each in her own time faces relational issues common across the ages as times change and people do not.
Reviews
Linda Gigliotti’s novel, When Again This Way I Walk, invites readers into the lives of two families, living in the same location but a century apart. The dual-timeline story begins when Andie gazes into the forest and experiences a life-like vision of a woman and girl of previous time. Throughout the story, we follow Andie, her family, and the choices and decisions each must make and the parallel issues that Julia and her family cope with. With touches of mystery and illusion, Gigliotti deftly alternates between eras to reveal how the lives and issues of these two women, and perhaps all of us time unto time, face similar challenges, experience the same joys, and struggle to discover our deepest truths (Judy Reeves).
-Judy Reeves is the author of Wild Women, Wild Voices: writing from your authentic wildness and A Writer’s Book of Days.
I had the privilege to be one of the first readers of Linda’s novel and from the first page I was drawn into the story and felt as if I was part of it, thanks to Linda’s extraordinary way of describing the scenery and the characters. A beautiful story about life, love, family, traditions and friendship with a twist of mystery and suspense. Linda sends you on a journey between the past and the present, reminding you that life is about being curious and courageous.
- Tina Mundelsee is author of Yoga Coaching: use your practice to resolve emotional baggage, master your mind & create harmony in your life & relationship and Think Happy, Be Happy – A Yoga Coaching Pocket Guide. As well Tina is life coach at www.tinastools.com
HowMaster: The Writer’s Guide toBeautiful Word Crafting – Revised Editionlindagigliottiwriter.com – Linda M. Gigliotti’s writings
This little book, written after almost 20 years of tutorial with students of college and university and with clients who write business reports, shows how effective writing is done.
Julia Cameron has a new work coming out in November: Blasting Through Blocks. Every writer and artist needs to see this one and I’ve already ordered it into our library system although I plan to buy my own copy.
Until next time,
Linda M. Gigliotti
lindagigliottiwriter.com 