Sometimes We Dream, Sometimes It Snows

As a night owl, it's a rare occasion that I go to bed by 9 pm.  Last night, after a long week, I couldn't resist.

My cozy bedtime routine includes reading by my little stained glass lamp which sits on my night stand, an antique book sellers table that houses my Bibles. So I snuggled up with A Measure of Mercy by Lauraine Snelling.  Some time later I put the book down, turned off the little lamp, and prepared myself for sleep.

After some prayer time my thoughts turned, where else, but to my writing.  I've a novel that I've been striving over for a very long time.  It is entirely out of sequence and cannot seem to manage it.  I've been praying lately for a breakthrough so that the characters would reveal to me what has led them up to a pivotal point in the story.  I drifted into slumber, hoping to work it out in my dreams. 

At 1:30 am  I shot out of bed.  It came to me.  I saw my protagonist crouching by a stream looking at her reflection.  There was snow.  This was a very important element to the story.  After writing for about an hour and a half, I found my way back to bed with the peace only a satisfied writer knows.

I awoke this morning to an early day of travel with my son and the remainder of it visiting with my mom.  My mom asked me to help her with her computer and showed me her new desktop wallpaper.  She had taken the photo herself, not so far from her home, a few years ago and had rediscovered it.  There it was.  My snowy stream.  I could imagine "Rachel" by the water's edge, and a canoe coming around the bend.

It snowed this afternoon.

Photo taken Joyce Buckley (mom) -  Panther Run, Raymond, ME

   What special places do you imagine in your writing?

Christmas Blog Candy Giveaway!

It's just a little treat  ~ a small token of thanks for visiting my blog. You'll get a chance to win for each post you comment on between now and December 16th. The drawings will be held randomly. If your email address isn't easily accessible from your profile or your own blog/site, make sure you insert it in your post.  Entry starts now with this post!

What kind of candy am I serving?

Set of 5 country primitive Christmas gift tags.

Laura Frantz won this!

Wise Men Still Seek Him resin holiday pin.

Saleslady371 won this!
Two old fashioned Christmas postcard replicas. 
Great for Christmas greetings, scrapbooking, etc.

Please leave your comment to win!

Blessings, Carla

Seize the Day

 Thanks for joining me in the hot tub . . . and now time for a little music.

As a writer, how do you seize the day?

Talk About Writing

Late this afternoon I met two of my writer friends for a little girlfriend time. We talked about homeschool, books, movies, church, and our kids. We had eggnog, passed along some gently used clothing, shared books, and other girly stuff.

Our gracious hostess had also invited us over to use the hot tub - the outdoor hot tub.  I wasn't certain it would be possible to relax outdoors,  in Maine, in December, in the dark, in a bathing suit,  in 28 degree weather.  It took a little coaxing, yet I finally acquiesced having been convinced that if my Scandanavian ancesters found the habit benefical that I might also.  At least it wasn't snowing.

It was actually very nice getting into a 104 degree tub of bubbling water, especially since I've been dealing with a lot of back pain these days, not to mention my fibromyalgia.  Oh, just mentioned it, didn't I?  The warm water helped sooth my aches and pains away. When the 20 minute timer went off, we actually pushed it again making our delightful spa last a full 40 minutes.   By the time we were done we were roasting.  Wrapped in our robes, we didn't even notice the chilly Maine air as the icicles tried to form on our dripping hair.

Part of the enjoyment of our hot tub excursion was from the great conversation we had.  We could see our breath, you know.  But the warm bubbles danced around me and my friend, Groovy Old Lady, as we talked about our faith, family, and another favorite topic . . . writing.  We discussed the novels we are writing, characters, authors, resources, blogging, the publishing industry, etc.  Talk about rejuvination.  It doesn't get any better than that!

So, where is the most interesting place you've ever had a conversation about writing?