Tag: Personal

Fifty

~ Meg ~ 113 Comments

October 21, 1966 – That is the day I was born. I have completed fifty years on this earth. I can safely say I am past middle age. It would mean living to 100. Not completely out of the realm of possibility, but highly unlikely. Although, I do have a great aunt who’s still alive at 104. Anyway…

Do you know what the lead story around the world was on the day I was born? A mudslide buried a school, killing 148 people in Aberfan, Wales. The local Merthyr Vale coal mine had dumped coal waste, ash and sludge to a height of 700 feet. Heavy rains led to the slide and the subsequent burial of the Pant Glas elementary school and some nearby homes. 116 of the victims were children. Horrifying.

Fifty is hitting me hard. I’ve never minded turning another year older. The other milestones haven’t affected me the way this one is. I feel like doors are closing on me – there are things I can never go back and do again. Opportunities have been lost, the consequences of past decisions have now been fully realized. The future is no longer wide open with possibilities, it has narrowed to a dimly lit hallway with doors that have been locked or that have been stuck with paint so they are hard to open. The walls are covered with artwork displaying everything that is now out of reach.

However….

I remind myself of these words of wise King Solomon: A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth – Ecclesiastes 7:1. And I remember that really a birthday is nothing more than a way to mark the passage of time. That, at the beginning of one’s life we have no name, no reputation, no body of work, no achievements, no experiences, no friends and no memories. After fifty years, at least I have all of those things. And though I feel like a great portion of those fifty years could’ve been better spent than they were, time unfortunately does not move in but one direction.

My only option, then, is to move forward down that dimly lit hallway, yank open the paint-stuck doors and take advantage of the opportunities left to me. It just no longer seems easy or effortless. But not impossible.

Header image from owl-cation.

NaNoWriMo or no…

~ Meg ~ 71 Comments

I am considering participating in National Novel Writing Month this year. Why on earth would I want to subject myself to that torture? Well, here’s why…

I HAVE BOOK FIVE OF MY SERIES FULLY PLOTTED OUT AND I HAVEN’T WRITTEN A BLOODY WORD SINCE FEBRUARY BECAUSE I CAN’T SEEM TO GET OFF THIS STUPID BLOG WRITING CAROUSEL!!!!!

There. I feel better. The truth is I’ve been more caught up in “Here Lies a Soldier” than the novel universe. But I also feel like in being a series writer, the books need to appear in semi-regular fashion if they are going to keep the audience’s attention. Which is why I thought signing up for NaNoWriMo might force me to pick up the thread of the next  Bucks County Novel episode. If I succeed in vomiting out 50,000 words over the 30 days of November, I can edit and proof read in December, get it to the beta readers on January first, and barring any glaring problems with the manuscript, do the final edit and publish before the end of February. Sounds like a good plan.

On the other hand, what that means for blogging is that I will have to drastically cut down on the time I spend here. In fact I was thinking of just hanging in with Lula for drinking adventurously and making that my one and only weekly contribution. And maybe just a quick hello in the comments of your lovely posts as best I can.

I’m still wavering. NaNo is a HUGE commitment. I absolutely despise deadlines. The time constraints might have the opposite effect from what I intend and I’ll just get mad and frustrated. So I don’t know…

Are any of you doing NaNoWriMo? And if you are, care to twist my arm?

Books, how I love thee.

~ Meg ~ 77 Comments

Writers, if you are not a lover of books, you need to have your heads examined. Seriously, you cannot, CANNOT be a good writer if you do not read. I have always loved books. As an only child, I grew up reading – making fictional friends to take the place of siblings. The first books I clearly remember reading were Richard Scarry’s picture books. Then it was Ramona Quimby and her big sister Beezus. Nancy Drew, Little House on the Prairie, Little Women….

I was a book nerd in high school, too. When other kids goofed off in free periods, I’d go bother the librarian. My high school librarian Mrs. Long, was a big, intimidating lady, but oh, she had great taste in books. She introduced me to Tolkien, Frank Herbert, Jules Verne, Douglas Adams…

And honestly, how can one pick a favorite? I’ve read the complete Sherlock Holmes collection and not just because of the TV series, either. (Although, I could listen to Benedict Cumberbatch reading a deli menu. That voice…) Other favorites include: Robinson Crusoe, The Count of Monte Cristo, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. More contemporary favorites are Tom Clancy’s: The Hunt For Red October, John Grisham’s: A Time To Kill, Khaled Hosseini’s: The Kite Runner and Sara Gruen’s: Water For Elephants.

Anthony Trollope asked, “What on earth could be more luxurious than a sofa, a book and a cup of coffee?” I couldn’t agree more. Perhaps I would add to that: a rainy or snowy day and a cozy blanket to wrap around your shoulders. To be forced by the weather to stay inside and curl up with a book? Heaven! And to have one with some heft, too, be it paper or electrons. As far as I’m concerned, a good story can go on forever. Lord of the Rings? Bring it on. Red Mars? But wait, there’s a trilogy.

I read many different genres and enjoy them all: mystery, thriller, romance, science fiction, espionage, historical fiction, biography… It’s been said that you can know a person by the type of books he (or she) reads. What does that say about me? Am I unknowable? Hmm. Perhaps just multi-faceted. Let’s go with that; it sounds so deep and sophisticated! *Snort*

Lately, I’ve been reading lots of history and non-fiction for research purposes. Beyond that, I just completed Graham Greene’s The End Of the Affair.  I am halfway through a biography of WB Yeats. I’m also working my way through the short stories of the Marquis de Sade. So what are you currently reading? Tell me what books you love. And what’s on your to-read list? If you like, join me on Goodreads. Winter is coming, let’s all curl up with a good book.