#odd writer

Weary and fatigued was my body and brain

Desperate to recenter myself

I sat in the dark, cold, quiet

Coffee warming my mug and thus my fingers

Book open

Deep sigh.

-Solstice Wood by Patricia A. McKillip

Um... I may or may not have hungrily devoured this book. It's not long. I read it in about 5 hours. But I should have read it in probably 3. It has to be read slowly. Every word has to be savored. Every word, sentence, and paragraph has to be slowly taken in and loved for its beauty. Plus, if you read it too fast you'll miss what's happening between the exquisite writing.

It is the perfect balance of the dangers of the fey world, comfy home life, the absolute magic of the seasons. Everything is familiar and yet looked at as if from a reflection or the corner of your eye, catching a flashing shadow of something not there. You feel like you touched something deeper than you can understand, that there is an inexplicable mystery here that will never be fully explained.

Parts of it were a fairy tale, parts of it reminded me of the Smith of Wooton Major by Tolkien, part of it was seeing myself as I wanted to be as a child, half feral while stepping into the real life of a woman which sometimes requires shoes.

blend chocolate in your coffee

open the windows

Breathe.

Weave flowers in your hair

look down between your toes

look up between your fingertips

Stretch.

Light a candle

build a bonfire

catch a firefly

Dance.

Mow the lawn, but first

walk through the dew-dusted grass

greet the shimmering beetles

consider the glint of spider webs

check for wildflowers and fungi

lay in the sunshine

In my core, I am a soldier crow, collecting pretty things

my home is in a high, tall pine,

my nest is mushroom lined.

I spread black wings over battlefields and cry my lament, my requiem over boys brave in death.

I am not a writer who often reads books on writing. They make me feel hemmed in or they remove my focus from the story to the mechanics in a way that makes the story feel dead. I become a taxidermist digging around under some hide hoping I can pass off my story as something living when everyone can see that it's dead.

This short, easy book is one of the good writing books. It takes gut instinct and turns it into intention. It makes the intangible tangible. Wisely, because the chapters are so short and direct, it doesn't force the storyteller into a box. It says put your characters through hell, defines that, gives you some examples, and sets you free to play. Because the examples aren't always about the most obvious living hell it encourages writers to explore subtle and overt ways to grow characters.

I liked this book because it was helpful without stifling my imagination. I enjoyed it because it enhanced my delight in stories and movies.