August 22, 2009
Last night I set out to start reading The Grapes of Wrath. Instead, I continued writing a photo book I started after our vacation. Realizing my children had never heard the story of my childhood, I decided to create the story using photographs from our trip. The trip, which involved returning to the place of my childhood, was the impetus for writing my story in a Shutterfly photo book, just for my children. That was about six months ago. My current venture of writing a screenplay is the "offspring" of the original photo book. Looking back, the photo book was the outline. I am still waiting to see if library volunteers can locate the archived newspaper article that relayed the story of my abduction; I'm almost sure my mother showed me a newspaper article many years ago. Once I have that, the photo book will be complete and that will be my first "published" piece.
Six-hundred nineteen. 619. 619. 619. I laugh. I've just picked up Steinbeck's novel and the first thing I do is flip to the last page to see how many pages I need to read. Page 619 is only a third of a page long. That's good. It starts on page 3, so I feel like I'm already 2 pages ahead. But then there's the introduction - it's 38 pages if I exclude the Suggestions for Further Reading. Maybe I should skip the intro. I begin on page 3. The entire first page is descriptive, what teachers call "showing" writing. Good. I know about that. Steinback has painted a picture for the reader. Even if I'm unfamiliar with Oklahoma's countryside, I SEE it. I feel that I can touch the fertile earth. I love the picture of "gophers and ant lions (starting) small avalanches." I giggle and think about all of the avalanches in my backyard. The smell of the fields pierces my nose. I tune into the sounds of nature. The first "was" I encounter is in the third line from the bottom. That's always been one of my teaching points..."Don't use was." I'll remember that. I turn the page and continue reading.
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Not that it's my place, but I'm so proud of you. It's as if a sleeping giant has awakened. You're so intelligent and well-disciplined to begin with... and now this project and your immersion in great film and literature... your creative instinct is being nourished, strengthened, affirmed, called up from the depths. Beware! It's a wild energy that doesn't like to be judged or critiqued, and, like a snail's eye being poked, will quickly retreat when threatened. So, let it out, let it flow... later, while your soul is napping, you can put your thinking cap back on and edit edit edit.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, enjoy your foray into Steinbeck's earthy, sensual prose. His directness and simplicity are deceptive... they belie a great poetic force. (I won't mention that John Ford's 1940 film adaptation is also a work of genius... you should finish the book first!)
Keeping track of your pages -- please post your progress toward 619! Peace, dp
Laura, I just read your previous post. First of all, when you have young children and a family to take care of, you really don't have much time to read. Chances are good that by the time you're able to sit down with a book, tiredness will take over.
ReplyDeleteMy advice? Start with a shorter book! Have some fun! It's not evil to start with a book of 200 pages or so. Find a short and sweet memoir or novel that really appeals to you. Work your way up to the classics and longer books.