Friday, February 14, 2014

ANITA BIRT - WEAVER OF TALES

There's a howling gale beating against my window and white caps rolling across the Strait. This is more like a winter storm than a spring storm, third one this week. I can't walk in the wind, not pleasant at all and I might fly out over the sea and land on Washington State.

For Valentine's Day I'll repeat the legend of the hummingbirds.

 "Legends say hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration. The hummingbird's delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life's sweetest creation."Believe.

I am struggling a bit with my book, "Phyllis." I'm not sure whether it will be a real story in real time with real people or is there a fantastic connection with the present time and the past, specifically the mid nineteenth century.

I shall soldier on with the story to pull the threads together or stay calm and let them tangle until the story becomes clear. Unless the writer plots and knows exactly where the story is going from one chapter to the next (more or less) there are no pitfalls or sudden events that throw the plot off kilter.

I don't plot, a lot of writers don't plot, Jo Beverley is one of the: a multi-published writer, a best seller of historical romances, Jo's books appear regularly on the New York Time's best seller lists. Jo says she writes by the "seat of her pants." She starts with an idea, characters, a situation, a place and goes from there.

I'm not in Jo's league as a writer, I don't plot because my stories surprise me as I write. Phyllis is the working title of my book. When her estranged husband arrives at her door step, ten years to the day he walked out on her, Phyllis is shocked at his appearance. Another shock arrives. He has a six year old child with him. He says he found Angie wandering the road a few weeks ago, dressed in rags, no shoes or socks, and could not leave her.

She has run away from an abusive mother. That's how the story begins. Phyllis has divorced Jake, doesn't want him back but she can't let Angie go hungry and brings her into the house.

Anita
www.anitabirt.com

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