Clip Art Crazy

Behold my crazy, rather rudimentary clip art interpretations of Tennyson's "Lady of Shalott." I've always been fascinated by Tennyson's poem, so I decided to have a little fun!

Under the influence

Did you know that E.B. White, the author of Charlotte's Web, had a penchant for making lists? I do, too. Unfortunately, my lists are usually the kind that never get finished! But sometimes that's not such a bad thing. I've decided to compile a list of the major creative influences in my life. What are the movies that shape your imagination, the authors and musicians whose stories and lyrics help bring out the ink in your pen?

In no particular order, here are some of my literary muses:

1. The Changeling- Zilpha Keatley Snyder
2. Giftwish (and sequel Catchfire) by Graham Dunstan Martin
3. The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen
4. The River at Green Knowe by L. M. Boston
5. Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
6. A Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
7. Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood by Meredith Ann Pierce
8. The Giver by Lois Lowry
9. The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander (and all other books by him!)
10. I, Coriander by Sally Gardner
11. Against the Fall of Night by Arthur C. Clarke
12. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
13. Johnathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach and Russel Munson
14. As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
15. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Norby Chronicles by Janet and Isaac Asimov
17.... A Wrinkle in Time, Harry Potter, The Neverending Story, ....and my list could stretch on into the 5th dimension.

I shall end with one last recommendation: Hattie and the Wild Waves. All writers should read it!

Wild Ink

I just survived my first year at grad school! I'd break out the chocolate and cider Martinelli's just for that, but I am especially excited to have more time for writing the next few months . . and terrified. Thoughts become wild ink thickets when imagination is given free play in the mind and it's my job to turn them into well-ordered groves. I confess, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have quiet space in the head--no characters vying for attention, no dragons distracting me from scholarly papers on theory or unit planning.

Quiet time is overrated, and dragons? Always welcome.