I love this post too. I love all of them. You are such a wonderful writer and these posts are so engaging. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight.
I liked your walk-thoughts today, and I wondered if you might be ADHD ... Your academic training probably consigns you to be a plotter, but have you ever tried the pantser-life? I think the freedom, not constrained by plot or plan is a freedom that says, "I don't have to have everything figured out". And, your tribute to Canada is nice (for your readers who might not know the history of the Pooh, there was a bear, in a zoo in Winnipeg. A.A. Milne, so far as I know, never visited here ; Pooh was Christopher Robin's Edward Bear, who had been renamed by the boy. He was renamed after an American black bear at London Zoo called Winnie who got her name from the fact that her owner had come from Winnipeg, Canada. Everybody should visit Winnipeg once. Twice is not required. Must go - I really liked this new piece. Cheers, Mark .... p.s. have you ever wondered, on your walks where your mind flits to many places (ADHD symptom methinks) is the dog walking you, rather than the other way 'round? Your thoughts, your dog saying 'squirrel', and you still get the walk done notwithstanding all those side-trips in you head, and in his ...
Interesting, but no, I am very definitely not ADHD! Pretty much the opposite, in fact. It's pretty common for people's minds to wander while walking, I think... Thanks for reading & enjoying!
Great post, Wendy! That mental wandering is so vital to writers--"they" would probably label us as ADD candidates, but so what? Even nonfiction writers like me have wandering minds but mine tends to wander into a sort of factual level, like 'hmmmmm I wonder why so many beetles love these flowers and leave those others alone?' Now that I've left my lovely home across the street from open public land shared with the wild ones, I find solace in the lovely variety of birds along my regular strolling path and hope to be able to write about them for young readers!
This is a great post! This happens to me a lot in the shower. I'll be like, Did I wash my hair? It also happens to me when I'm driving, which is a little scary. Like, Did I just run a red light? I think when driving, it's perfectly fine and I really am paying enough attention. 😀 ....... As for characters taking their own paths, I've always found that to be energizing. I outlined my latest novel in detail, but just as the novel was a work in progress, so was the outline. I updated the outline many times during the writing of the first draft.
I am reading this in March 2024, and Wendy, I am clamoring for more!!! Ahhh...the fork in the road. There's a Dan Fogelberg song where he speaks of this:
I love this post too. I love all of them. You are such a wonderful writer and these posts are so engaging. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight.
Thank you so much, Suzy!
Thanks for your confidence, Wendy! I'm in love with the nenes, the state bird of Hawaii--beautiful geese with a great family life!
Yes! I have a stuffed animal nene from our last visit.
Sweet!
I liked your walk-thoughts today, and I wondered if you might be ADHD ... Your academic training probably consigns you to be a plotter, but have you ever tried the pantser-life? I think the freedom, not constrained by plot or plan is a freedom that says, "I don't have to have everything figured out". And, your tribute to Canada is nice (for your readers who might not know the history of the Pooh, there was a bear, in a zoo in Winnipeg. A.A. Milne, so far as I know, never visited here ; Pooh was Christopher Robin's Edward Bear, who had been renamed by the boy. He was renamed after an American black bear at London Zoo called Winnie who got her name from the fact that her owner had come from Winnipeg, Canada. Everybody should visit Winnipeg once. Twice is not required. Must go - I really liked this new piece. Cheers, Mark .... p.s. have you ever wondered, on your walks where your mind flits to many places (ADHD symptom methinks) is the dog walking you, rather than the other way 'round? Your thoughts, your dog saying 'squirrel', and you still get the walk done notwithstanding all those side-trips in you head, and in his ...
Interesting, but no, I am very definitely not ADHD! Pretty much the opposite, in fact. It's pretty common for people's minds to wander while walking, I think... Thanks for reading & enjoying!
Great post, Wendy! That mental wandering is so vital to writers--"they" would probably label us as ADD candidates, but so what? Even nonfiction writers like me have wandering minds but mine tends to wander into a sort of factual level, like 'hmmmmm I wonder why so many beetles love these flowers and leave those others alone?' Now that I've left my lovely home across the street from open public land shared with the wild ones, I find solace in the lovely variety of birds along my regular strolling path and hope to be able to write about them for young readers!
And I'm certain you will be writing about those birds soon! I'm looking forward to it.
This is a great post! This happens to me a lot in the shower. I'll be like, Did I wash my hair? It also happens to me when I'm driving, which is a little scary. Like, Did I just run a red light? I think when driving, it's perfectly fine and I really am paying enough attention. 😀 ....... As for characters taking their own paths, I've always found that to be energizing. I outlined my latest novel in detail, but just as the novel was a work in progress, so was the outline. I updated the outline many times during the writing of the first draft.
Exactly - the outline is a WIP, too! (And I also sometimes forget whether I washed my hair.) Thanks for reading!
I’m a plotter too but I tend to allow intuitive, spontaneous writing on the trail. Meanwhile, I want to go on this hike you talk about.
If you're ever in Montana, I will happily take you on that very trail. Thanks for reading!
I am reading this in March 2024, and Wendy, I am clamoring for more!!! Ahhh...the fork in the road. There's a Dan Fogelberg song where he speaks of this:
Once in a vision
I came on some woods
And stood at a fork in the road
My choices were clear
Yet I froze with the fear
Of not knowing which way to go
One road was simple
Acceptance of life
The other road offered sweet peace
When I made my decision
My vision became my release.
May our decisions bring "release."
Yes, release! I love that. Thanks for reading, Mary.
Dead ends tend to happen when you ask a character to do something that character would never do.