Sharon Creech's Blog, page 22

Snowstorm

Last night, in the midst of the howling winds of a winter storm, the power went out for several hours. A good excuse to have dinner by candlelight and a fire in the fireplace.

Could even work with the aid of candles:


Much contemplation of life-before-electricity, so utterly dependent are we . . .

This morning, we awoke to a blue-white scene (view from the office):


The power is back on, the tea is hot, and the snow falls outside while I resume work inside:

Are you back to work or school today, mm?

The Animals Take Over

We had animal visitors for the holidays.


This cute pooch (above)pooped on the carpet
and

this cute pooch (above)peed in the kitchen
and

this tired pup (above)
finally gave upchewing the wrapping paperand the Christmas treeand the stuffed frogand collapsedwith his buddy, the horse
and

these two mellow bearslet themselves be dragged and pulledand hugged and ridden
and they did notchew or poop or peeanywhereatall.

Snow

No snow on Christmas Eve or Christmas Dayor the two days followingbut when the guests - who were craving snow -leftdown came the snow.
It happens.

How to Write a Book in Four Easy Steps

1. First, choose appealing ingredients, including intriguing characters - I mean apples:



2. Next, peel away the skins and throw them all together and simmer for 15 drafts - I mean minutes:


3. Then, puree (edit in a blender), drain off the excess and reserve for another story - I mean drinking:

4. And there you have it - a book!  I mean - applesauce!



Oh well, I tried.  The analogy isn't perfect.  But what corresponds best, I think, is that if you begin with good ingredients, and have the patience to combine them and simmer them and drain off the excess, you are more likely to end with something good.  
Yes? No? Maybe?

Apples, apples, apples

This post is a nod to Lori Skoog and to Kate Jackson who regularly post enticing food photos.  Recently Lori posted a photo of an apple pie she was in the midst of baking, and it set off such hunger and yearning pangs that I went out in search of apples that very day.

At a local farm, I found Honeycrisps (shown above), an apple I'd been searching for since reading an article on apple growing in The New Yorker. I'd never eaten a Honeycrisp before - but, oh, are they good.  The name describes them well.


So, I made the pie. Here it is waiting for top crust and crimping:


And now ready to go in the oven:

And, ta da!  Warm apple pie!

It is now half gone. And I mean to tell you: it is goooooood.
Makes you hungry, doesn't it?Makes you want to go out and get some apples, doesn't it?Makes you want to bake a pie, doesn't it?
Mmmmmmmmm.

Geese at Sunset

Two nights ago, the scene above:geese on tranquil lakeat sunset.
Tonight, though,the wind is howlingthe rain is peltingthe water surgingpast sunsetinky black.
I had a calm scene to write tonightbut the relentless windsare skewing the scenetossing ithere and there.
And that's the way it goes.Mm?

How'd you get that Twitter Name?

Time for an Explanation
"Why do you use ciaobellacreech as your Twitter screen name?"
twitter.com/ciaobellacreech
It sounds a bit vain, doesn't it? (Translation = 'Hello, beautiful Creech.' But wait! I have an explanation.  
When I signed up for Twitter and was asked to provide a screen name, I chose, simply, my own name, Sharon Creech, but was promptly informed that that was already taken. What? Really?  (Turns out there are several Sharon and Sherri Creeches around.)
I had just returned from a year in southern Switzerland, where the language is Italian, and every day when I walked through the local village, people would call out (to me and to other girls and women), "Ciao, bella!"  
Ciao, bella!  Ciao, bella!  Ciao, bella!  Such a cheery refrain bouncing off the mountainsides.
And so, when Twitter told me I couldn't use my own name, the first thing that popped into my head was 'Ciao, bella!'
Ciaobellacreech.
I've since learned that Ciao Bella is also a lingerie chain . . . and somewhere I saw it as the name of an ice cream shop.
So.  There you go.
Ciao, bella!

Tracks

Someonehas been leavinglipstickkisses

allaroundthehouse
. . .and it wasn'tmeand it's notmyhouse
. . .
xx

Texture and Story

I love this gnarly old tree.What a history it must have.It reminds me of a really, really old and wise woman.You don't want to mess with herbut you might learn a lot from her.
On my walks I am drawn to textureand to contrasts in texturefrom the rough and gnarly, nobby, bare tree aboveto this:

soft and floaty grass frondsas delicate as lace.
I appreciate intriguing texture in story the accumulation of details and toneof pacing and patternand I appreciate contrasts in texturethat guide me from the gnarly to the softskillfully.
I love when I begin reading a bookand sense immediatelythat I am in the handsof a skillful writer.
Have you had that feeling recently?What book or what writer?

Pattern and Story

I am drawn to pattern- not rigid, symmetrical pattern - but to pleasing balance

In life as in storyI need to see the particular and understand how it relatesto the whole

It wasn't until I got homefrom my walkthat I noticed the similaritiesin the scenes that caught my eye
much as, in writing a story,the patterns are not always evidentuntil I complete a first 'walk' (draft)
but then, once noticed,the task is to oonch them to the surface
right?