Writers and Writing from Around the Web

During my Internet travels over the past week or so, I came across a few things you all might enjoy -

* Two excellent posts on the Writer Unboxed site are excellent reminders that it's all about the craft, all about writing the best book (or story or poem etc.) we can. Check out "A Promotional Strategy for Overwhelmed Introverts" by Robin LaFevers and "The Importance of a WOW Book in an Overcrowded Marketplace" by MJ Rose.

* UMass Lowell kicked off their Chancellor's Speaker Series with a very exciting first speaker - Stephen King. You can read a bit of background about the event and King here. And, you can watch/listen to the whole thing online here! I haven't gone through all of it yet myself - you can click on individual clips, like him reading a brand new short story! - but I've enjoyed it so far. Even if you're not a fan of the horror genre, King always has excellent writing advice.

* Since I celebrated a relatively big birthday in 2012, I found this article/slideshow, "Authors Over 80 Who Shun Retirement," particularly inspiring. You're never too old to be - or stay! - a writer.

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Planning on writing past "retirement age" like those over 80 folks? Excited about the King talk? Do you sometimes feel the craft of writing gets overshadowed by the fast paced pressure to get our work, our words, out there?

The Natural Writer

I am not a nature girl. I haven't gone camping since I was a Brownie and all the other little girls chose me to be their "bathroom buddy" - the one they woke up to walk with them to the bathrooms. In the woods. In the dark. I don't dig in a garden, although I do manage to keep some plants alive. I don't like "critters," especially in the house. Ask my husband what happened when one of those little Florida lizards made its way inside our old apartment. And don't get me started on palmetto bugs.

Overall, nature and I are on civil, if not friendly, terms. So, I find it extremely interesting that one of my favorite places to go is ... the beach. I'm not talking about swimming or sprawling in beach chairs (although I enjoy those, too) but walking ... and walking ... and walking. My husband and I walk on the beach as often as we can. It clears our heads and our lungs. It's where I can breathe. I look out over the water and feel both incredibly small and huge with possibilities at the same time. Inspiration and imagination ride the waves, lapping at my toes, receding, then returning. Always returning.

Then, when my husband and I sit in our little courtyard at home (remember, no garden for me!) and I close my eyes and feel the sun on my face, solutions to character issues and plot tangles drift like puffs of white clouds through the shocking blue of my mind's sky. The distance from my laptop and blogs and rejection letters seems so very great then. But I always return to the words.

Because isn't that what writers do?