Becoming Part of the Story...

Wow.  So I haven't written a new post in almost a year, which is ridiculous.  I have really been wanting to get back into blogging, but I I've been busy and didn't really know where to begin.  Sooo much has happened this year!  But when I looked at the challenges, successes, and changes that I've been through, they all seem to boil down to one thing, which is my topic tonight: Becoming Part of the Story.

Many of you know that I am a writer, and I have been working on my novel "City of Secrets" for longer than I care to mention.  It has changed a lot over the years, and so have I.  But one thing that I think has been holding me back is that I've tried to write the story from a distance.  I'd much rather observe and report than jump in and join.

But I recently went through a major "revolution of spirit" which has changed every aspect of my life in ways I didn't even pursue or expect.  One of them is that I am getting involved in things and "putting myself out there," something I usually avoid.

I work at a lovely Bed & Breakfast, which is now the home setting of my main characters and has breathed new life and depth into my story.  I recently started volunteering at The Lightner Museum, which has already given me so many new ideas I get giddy when I think about it.  And next week I am going to start volunteering at the historical society library and possibly even attend a meeting of Ancient City Writers at the library!  My life feels so abundant, exciting, and purposeful, and I know it's because I'm seeking out new opportunities.

We never know where a conversation, an opened door, or a new acquaintance will lead.

“You must learn day by day, year by year to broaden your horizon. The more things you love, the more you are interested in, the more you enjoy, the more you are indignant about, the more you have left when anything happens.” - Ethel Barrymore

Inspiration Fieldtrip: Cross Creek

One great way to get inspiration for writing is to read the work of other writers you admire.  On a recent trip to Washington Oaks State Park, I bought "Cross Creek" and "The Yearling," hoping I could get a lot of inspiration for my own writing.  I started reading Cross Creek and instantly fell in love, and started planning a fieldtrip there.

Then, as providence would have it, my family got the opportunity to stay at a cabin in Interlachen, and guess what was only 45 min. away?  Cross Creek!  It took a lot of convincing, but finally our whole family headed out for the day.  There's a State Park, where you can walk on nature trails, walk through a small citrus grove, see the barn, garden, tenant house, and even take a tour of her old cracker-style house.

She was a college graduate, married twice, had no kids, wrote 10 books and 26 short stories, and died at the young age of 57 from a brain hemorrhage.  Even though she's lived in in various places throughout the US, it is clear that her time at Cross Creek was special, and I can see why.  She wrote her best works here, among the orange trees, dirt roads, and wildlife.

She wanted to pass this inspirational gift to others- and bequeathed her property to Rollins College to be used as a writers retreat.  Unfortunately, that dream would never be realized.  But as a National Park, writers like me can at least visit and be inspired.


"Enchantment lies in different things for each of us.  For me, it is in this: to step out of the bright sunlight into the shade of orange trees; to walk under the arched canopy of their jadelike leaves, to see the long aisles of lichened trunks stretch ahead in geometric rhythm; to feel the mystery of a seclusion that yet has shafts of light striking through it.  This is the essence of an ancient and secret magic." - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings