I saw a quote in Panera the other day. A cute quote about a preference for coffee over compliments, attributed to one of my favorite authors: Louisa May Alcott. Being the good little detail-oriented researcher that I am, I went home and looked it up.
Indeed, the words were penned by Alcott. But they were spoken through the lips of her character, Amy, the youngest sister in Little Women.
I found myself conflicted about that. Authors are quoted through the words of their characters all the time. And while I’m glad acknowledgement is given to the creator of those words, I find myself concerned. (more…)
Last week was RIDICULOUS. One of those physically exhausting, emotionally trying weeks that kept beating up on me in so many ways. And I kept telling myself to compartmentalize, to deal with things and then move on, the sooner the better. Because that’s rational and smart and appropriate.
I started writing fiction when I was a kid. To be honest, I couldn’t really give you an age, but my best guess is 7. No lie.
I was going to tell you about one of my first stories but why do that when I can let you read it? Well, mostly because it’s embarrassing but what the heck. I wrote this one when I was about 9. See if you can recognize the subtle influence of the fables I read as a child; my adult self comments are in teal:
Once upon a time, there lived in the forest a small elf. He had escaped from Santa’s workshop. (Because apparently Santa enslaved the elves.) He got into a lot of mischief. His name was Otto. (more…)