Bodie’s Comments (group member since Feb 19, 2011)

Bodie’s comments from the Q&A with Livia Blackburne on Neuroscience of Reading and Writing group.

Hi Sarah--Welcome! Nice to meet you. I think my favorite writing authorities are Stephen King and Anne Lamotte--how's that for both ends of the spectrum?

Bodie P
http://www.magicdogpress.wordpress.com

Right, ZaBeth: In a way, it's like writing in parallel dimensions. We have the story, which our little moments serve, and we have our own history, which our little moments also serve, and while they are not the same, they are joined by those moments.

Bodie P
http://www.magicdogpress.wordpress.com

ZaBeth wrote: "Why *do* we feel the need to share what we write? I know a lot of times I need to write so that I can straighten out all the thoughts in my head. They just *fall* into place when I *think* in term..."

Something about that part of what you wrote resonates for me--in writing, I validate myself to myself. I think there's also something really important about the sharing aspect of it. When I was in intensive therapy one of the exercises I did was to keep a journal, and turn it in every appointment. I don't know if my therapist read what I wrote. I'm not sure that was the point. I think was WAS the point was that in writing my truth and letting it pass from my hands to another's hands I was symbolically risking having the world know my inner truth. So there's that.

But I also write to "run away from home," and to capture moments of my life. I write to escape, like others on this list--but in that escape I find myself mining my life for those moments in time that seem to shine--maybe it's something as simple as walking into a store, smelling the baked goods, hearing the bell ring, and feeling the sun on my back. Maybe it's standing in a half-harvested field, in the scalding heat, with the whole world blue and gold around me. None of those moments are enough to make a story--but I treasure them, and I tuck them into my books as a way of holding onto them.

Bodie P
http://www.magicdogpress.wordpress.com

Reading and writing? It's half of what I do. The other half is design and illustration. But that's the professional stuff. My own writing is how I process my life; I'm pretty prolific (the world can be grateful that I don't feel the need to publish everything I write).

Bodie P
http://www.magicdogpress.wordpress.com

Hi, I'm Bodie Parkhurst, and like about everybody here I'm both a reader and a writer. It's hard to categorize what I write; it's got bits of fantasy, bits of horror, lots of realism, more than a little mythology, and lots of humor. I'm also an illustrator and a book designer (I do custom designs for self-publishers as well as book and cover designs for small presses, as well as for my own novels and picture books). That was what sparked my interest in this group. Book design is all about analyzing the potential audience and then designing the book to present the information in the best way for that audience. When I do my job right, people aren't even aware of the book design; the information simply flows seamlessly from the page to the brain.

I look forward to the discussion!

BodieP
http://www.magicdogpress.wordpress.com