Author: Lynn

My husband and I live in beautiful Nova Scotia, Canada, and now that we are empty nesting I again began pursuing my dream of writing for children. I am privileged to have met and/or corresponded with Canadian and US authors,; among those are internationally known Canadian author Budge Wilson who wrote many MG and other books, Laura Best, Darlene Foster; US author Drew Lamm (originally from Canada); US author/novelist Sue Harrison - all whose books I've reviewed on my blog, Amazon and other sites. It's my joy to be in contact with other writers and professionals of all stages of the process. Life brings change, and for me that meant the opportunity to pursue a decades old dream - to learn to paint. I now join other painters weekly and we paint and learn together. You can check out my paintings at https://www.instagram.com/lynn.a.davidson2019

ends and beginnings

This week we are experiencing a heat wave in Nova Scotia.  As we enter hurricane season, Hurricane Earl is making its way up the eastern coastline, and we here are enjoying (or not!) the high temperatures and heavy humidity.  By the time Earl arrives on our shores its hurricane status is expected to be downgraded to tropical storm strength.  That means we will get lots of wind and rain but with less fury, and probably some areas will suffer damage, but because the storm keeps veering a little off the course it was on we do not yet know for certain how much of the province will take the brunt of it.  One good thing is that the storm will sweep the humidity away with its passing, and the temperatures will lessen by more than ten degrees making it seem quite cool in comparison to what we are enduring now.  (I want to make it clear that I am not complaining – because Summer is far too short – but the high heat and humidity combination really drains one’s energy.)

For awhile this evening my husband and I stood out on our deck enjoying the refreshing evening breeze, which is cooler than what the fans can push around in our house.  I love looking at the sky filled with stars, and listening to the night sounds.  How amazing it all is!  Now the crickets are chirping steadily, a sure sign of the end of Summer.  This morning I heard another flock of geese honking loudly in unison as they flew over, another sure sign of the oncoming Autumn.

And today …. today our darling little grandson started school!  How can it be this all-important day so soon?!  He was excited to climb onto that big yellow school bus, taking him into the next phase of his precious life.  (Later over the telephone he told us he enjoyed his first day of school.)

I remember my very first day of school.  It was horrible; I was so painfully shy.  And to add to the problem, I had become very ill with tonsillitis during that summer and had to have a tonsillectomy just before school began.  Of course, that meant that I was unable to start at the same time as the other children, which made it even more difficult.

So … do you remember your very first day of school?  What kind of memory making day was it for you?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Would you knowingly write a potentially ‘banned’ book?

I have been thinking more about the writing process, since NaNoWriMo is coming up in November and I probably will participate in that.  I have been reading more, too, and you will see the updating of ‘my “have read” book list’ page.

In wondering about banned books and those that are challenged – the hope of the challenger being that the book will be banned – I posted a list that I found of some of those classics:

Banned and Challenged Classics:

  1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
  4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
  6. Ulysses by James Joyce
  7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
  8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
  9. 1984 by George Orwell
  10. Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov
  11. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
  12. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
  13. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  14. Animal Farm by George Orwell
  15. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
  16. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
  17. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
  18. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
  19. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
  20. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
  21. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  22. Native Son by Richard Wright
  23. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
  24. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
  25. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
  26. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
  27. Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
  28. All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren
  29. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
  30. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
  31. Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence
  32. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
  33. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
  34. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
  35. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
  36. Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
  37. Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence
  38. Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
  39. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
  40. Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
  41. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
  42. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
  43. The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
  44. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
  45. An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
  46. Rabbit, Run by John Updike

I would think that books with that reputation would get an increase in sales, thanks to the curious.  What do you think?  Have you read any of those books, and if so do you understand why the book is on this list? Do you agree?

Let’s take this a little further.  Have you ever written a book that has been challenged when it was not your intention for it to receive that kind of publicity? Or, do you have a subject burning in your soul that you want to write about, but you know it could be challenged or even banned?  Would you write it anyway?

I hope to hear from many of you on this topic.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!  🙂

NaNo Writing

It was so fun giving out awards to other bloggers earlier this week.  Even more fun was receiving replies from some of them.  It was so inspiring to me (thanks to Laura A. Best) that I am eager to post again so soon.

Now I am again thinking about NaNo writing.  Have you ever heard about it?  I learned about NaNo last year but didn’t get up the ‘courage’ to attempt it.  National Novel Writing takes place the whole month of November.   The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days!  Sounds like a huge challenge, doesn’t it?  And it is – especially where the writer does not start with anything at all or simply an outline.   The rule is to write, write, write .. whatever comes to mind, with NO EDITING all the way through to the end of the month or upon reaching the 50,000 word count – and the challenge has ended.

Check it out at: http://www.nanowrimo.org

I am thinking of doing this, but … can I manage it?  Of course, there is no shame in not reaching the goal, and most don’t, so if I don’t get anywhere near it I at least got started.  The purpose is to write and get inspiration from just finding out what you can do.  It is suggested to have a support group so that you can encourage one another along.

Have you ever taken part in NaNo?  What did you learn about your writing?

Are you interested in participating?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!  🙂

Versatile Blogger Award!

Almost three weeks ago I received a surprise in my Inbox.  Author Laura A. Best awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award!  I was surprised and honoured, but, admittedly, worried.  Why? Because I felt unworthy and intimidated by it since I am not keeping up my blogging very well these days.  (Do you hear ‘perfectionism’ in that?) But, if Laura believes in me and wants to encourage my writing, then I will attempt to follow through.  Thanks again, Laura! Even though I am late doing this I do appreciate your shout out.  🙂

There are usually rules to follow when receiving something like this, so here are the requirements for this particular one:

1. Thank the one who gave me this award.
2. Share seven things about myself.
3. Present this honour to 15 newly discovered bloggers.
4. Drop by and let my fifteen new friends know I love them.

Okay, I have done the first one … above … and you may like to check out Laura’s blog which is always very interesting and thought-provoking. You can find her at: http://lauraabest.wordpress.com/

Seven things about myself.  hmmm

  1. I have been married for almost 35 years!  Wow!  (In October ’10 we will be celebrating our 34th anniversary and beginning our 35th year together.) How did that happen so fast? We have four daughters (several times I was mistaken for a sister of my daughters – which was quite amusing), a son-in-law, and a grandson.
  2. I have a younger sister, two sisters-in-law, two brothers-in-law, two nephews, and four nieces.
  3. In 2005 I went to Holland with my dad and sister.  (Mum had passed away a few years earlier, so – because he and Mum had enjoyed their visit to Holland before Mum became ill – Dad took his two daughters on the trip of a lifetime.)  Dad was one of the brave Canadian WWII soldiers who took part in the Liberation of the Netherlands.  (I’m so proud of him.) We were members of a Veterans’ tour group and were well taken care of and honoured by wonderful Dutch families. It was an extraordinary 10 days.
  4. I do not drive, made that decision many years ago and most of the time I do not regret it even though I do not live close enough to walk to town – too far for me.  I appreciate country living, though, and enjoy peaceful morning walks.
  5. I love the rhythm of music and dance.  When there is music it is next to impossible for me to be still.
  6. One of my goals is to go tandem sky-diving as soon as I can.  One of my daughters wants to do it too, so we are planning to experience this crazy exciting thing together.  We each will step out of the plane secured to a professional tandem jumper, though.
  7. I maintain bird feeders year round and enjoy watching our feathered friends. Right now we have 9 hummingbirds coming, along with 10 or more other varieties of birds. Delightful!

Okay, now that you have read the about me part,  the next requirement is to present this award to 15 other bloggers.  It took me quite awhile to fulfill that one, but here are the ones  I wish to bring recognition to .. so please check them out.

  1. a bit much
  2. Bellography
  3. Crowe’s Nest
  4. Discerning Reader
  5. Inspired Photography
  6. Just Breathe
  7. Liv2Write2Day
  8. The Christian Writers Page
  9. The Musings of Ug
  10. The Writing Mama
  11. Transplanted
  12. Truth Portraits
  13. Word Wrangler
  14. Writer’s Cramps
  15. WRITE2IGNITE!

That took some extra doing! The page stopped saving and I lost part of my list so had to finish it a second time.  It is worth it, though, and I hope you enjoy visiting these sites.

Note to recipients: You are not obligated to do anything about this award if you cannot manage it.  Please simply enjoy the kudos! 🙂

Now that I have finished this (again) … I have to get some sleep.  Tomorrow I will try to contact all the 15 above-mentioned bloggers and let them know of their award.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!  🙂

Choices and computers

It has been five weeks since my last post! In April, my computer did the closest thing to a crash without it being a complete one; I’m still getting it back in order. It was disappointing to lose some things, mostly writing contacts and information. The upside of this computer crisis is that having to reload programs has given me the newest updated ones, and introduction to some great new-to-me programs.

Free advice regarding anti-virus programs: First, BUY one! Second, ONLY use a free one to test it using their limited time free trial, then buy it if you like it. I learned the hard way that free ones do not have enough of the necessary ingredients to protect your computer, regardless of what you think.

I had been working on a story I’d written for children, and revising it in preparation for submission to a magazine. With the ‘crash’, once I found my story again it would be a rush job to get it sent by the April 30 deadline. After all that effort I made the decision to set it aside. Maybe one day it will go somewhere and even be accepted. Now, in fact, I am not sure what I am supposed to do about my writing. Does it sound as if some discouragement has sneaked into the picture?

Do you ever get into the place of not being sure what you really are supposed to be doing? I remind myself of Jonah in the Bible. Remember him? God told him what He was to do, Jonah didn’t agree and ran the opposite way, only to be hauled up short. You know the story; he came around eventually. Now, I’m not saying I deliberately said no to God, but I may have wandered off on my own brilliant tangents instead of following closely to His plan. Not that my choices are/were bad ones, they just may not be the right ones or God’s best for me.

My business website is under scrutiny now, too; I’m considering revising my business goals.

Maybe it’s because Spring is here in Nova Scotia – or maybe I am getting wiser?? hmmm

What do you think? What is happening in your life? Do you ever go through this kind of thing, and if so .. what have you learned from it? Tell me about it!

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Re-vision and revisions

I haven’t been posting lately to my blogs.  Why?  I do have a valid reason (excuse?)  I had been reading so much that my eyes were getting too tired and strained, and the small print in one book was hard to see well.  Being due for an eye checkup I made the needed appointment.   The result is that I now have stronger reading glasses, and with better vision I am able to get back at my reading.  I added another book to my ‘have read’ page, and hope to do well with my reading in April.

Remember I told you about a story I was working on, cutting it down?  I finally got it from nearly 3000 words (actually 2994) way down to 1300.  Amazingly, nothing of the heart of the story was lost in the cut.  My critiquer gave me further suggestions, and I worked on a second revision.  Now I am waiting to get further response on that before I send it on to a magazine to see if they are interested in it.

I also have some other stories brewing.  Maybe they will be for magazines, maybe short stories.   Not sure yet.  I will have to see where my muse will take me in those.

SO, how’s your ‘vision’ lately?  I’d love to hear about it.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!  🙂

Critiques and crankiness

How did you handle your first real story critique?  Me?  Not so well.

My rhyming story was not too bad, I could see where there was room for improvement once I understood some things I didn’t know before.  It will likely come back from the publisher with a rejection letter.  But then another story, the beginning of a possible novel in which I had invested more, was critiqued.

Owie!  To say I was a bit upset would be quite safe to say.  😦  I had thought it would receive ‘good story!’ and ‘well written’, ‘great ending.’  (I planned to build the story in the middle to make it longer and more involved.)  Um .. well, what I was told was not exactly like that but close.  Close wasn’t good enough in my mind.  I was not expecting to be told to take out this and that, make those changes, and cut it down for submission to a children’s magazine.  Nope, wasn’t expecting that.

So how did I handle my first real story critique?  Somehow I overlooked that I was told something positive about ‘my voice’, about my characters being great, about the great message.  Instead, I found myself getting out of sorts, sad (yes, I admit I actually shed a few tears), glum, discouraged.

My husband came home from work, and after a few minutes had passed he asked, “Okay, what’s bothering you?” with concern showing in his face.

“Why do you ask that?” I replied.

“Because you are the way you are when something is bothering you.”  Very observant of him, I thought, appreciatively.

But then I said … “oh, I dunno …. nothing.”    Not ready to talk about it.

And what did my concerned man do?  “Oh …. okay then ….”  and resignedly he walked away.  He walked away!   He gave up.  Just like that.  Hmmm

And what did I do?  I thought, but didn’t say, “Humph!  Okay then, don’t try again to find out.  That was not the right thing to say!”   *Sigh*   (It is hard for men to know when to pursue and when to leave it alone.)

Oh, the games we play.   Why is it so hard to just say what’s bothering me?  Why does opening my heart to him feel so raw and invasive?  Maybe because I was not prepared to deal with the emotion yet, and – feeling very disappointed that what I had written was not good enough – I had to work that through.  Yes, I felt a little cranky about my writing being challenged, but I didn’t take it out on him, nor did I go all evening like that.  Eventually,  I looked at my story again and started cutting, making those suggested changes, seeing the potential in it.

Before I got to that place of facing the challenge, I asked myself, “Is this  what I really want to do?”  Write, write, write, face critiques, cut, change, add, start over.  Am I cut out for this?  Maybe I am.  Is it worth finding out?  Durn tootin’!  I will keep at it until something happens.  Either I will be successful in being successful or I will be successful in finding out I am no good at this.  🙂  Looks like a win/win situation to me!   (Thanks D.E.)

I see now that in order to make my writing all it can be I have to let change happen.  I have to accept the challenge.  And I am willing to do that.

So, what’s your story about your first real story critique?  How did you handle it and what has it done for your writing?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!  🙂