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| Artist, M. Boulanger unsigned |
Spring has sprung. Here in
Portland Oregon, the gardens are abundant with blossoms. Lilac, calendula,
wisteria, snap dragons; even the roses have decided it’s close enough to June
to show their pretty heads. The grass is green and growing like the weed it is.
The foliage is fresh and new.
But as I ponder my back yard
garden, I see brown creeping into the color. The lilacs are already fading; the
hot-pink rhododendron poms are beginning to bleach. Azalea petals dangle from
their filaments to fall and litter the ground. The hyacinths and daffodils that
started this flower frenzy are relegated to memory.
Fleeting. So anticipated; so
beautiful; so quickly gone.
Yes, I know there will be buds
to come: lilies, zinnia, and of course more roses. There will be daisies in the
fields and marigolds in the borders. Gladiolas will reach up bright, colorful
stalks. Fuchsias will hang from baskets on porches where we can sit quietly, evading
the summer heat.
Before we know it, chrysanthemums
and dahlias will push their way through the drying soil. Reds and
browns and golds, mimicking their season.
Which brings us to winter. All
in the blink of an eye.
For me, writing is like the flowers of the seasons: the anticipation of the new story, so perfect and
unique in my mind; the first draft giving way to a second and a third (and a
fourth). The editing, the publishing…
Where did that virgin story go? Is it
still abloom somewhere in the finished product? (yes, I said “product”.) That
seed from my imagination— will it be what people take away when they read the
book?
Check out
more blogs by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer at:
Happy
reading!
Mollie,
ReplyDeleteI love your seasonal flowers example as a metaphor for the writing process. The seeds of imagination...lovely image.
Thank you, Kaye. It all fits together in the circle of life.
ReplyDeleteYou must be something of a gardener, Mollie, to make such an accurate description of flowers through the seasons. I understand completely what you mean by the anticipation of writing a new story and getting it through its stages to its final draft.
ReplyDeleteI love the covers for your mystery series. Writing a mystery seems daunting to me so I envy those like you who have accomplished the art of writing them.
I wish you every success.
Thank you, Sarah. I used to garden more than I do now. My grandmother raised me to know the flowers. Thanks about the covers. They are by West Clast cat artist Leslie Cobb.
ReplyDelete...West Coast. (Will I never learn to proofread! every! time!?)
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