Silence in the Big O...

We all have those moments that are deeply etched in our memories. Whenever you think about them you can see your surroundings, hear the words spoken and even smell the smells that might have been drifting in the air. Unfortunately, these events are most often laced with tragedy. During my freshmen year of college, I was taking my comp final when the school shooting in Paducah, Kentucky happened. The sounds of my mom's voice over the running shower water on September 11 are forever ingrained into me. Today my city of Omaha had such an event.

The difference in all of these is distance. I knew people affected by 9-11 and my heart went out to the students in Kentucky, but overall I remained untouched. Today was different as the incident occurred not more than half a mile from the school where my own children attend. Their very school was affected by the lock down.

I watched on TV as frantic moms went to retrieve their children. Suffered through my husband's jokes about how they would have to haul me to jail. Finally, I thanked my lucky stars that Cloudya and Kaiden were in Kansas City with grandma and that my high school hockey sons were tucked safely in their hometowns. Most of all I was thankful that they didn't have to experience it.

Tonight every place we visited in the Big O seemed to be filled with one common factor...silence. The shock sets in as something so horrible strikes so close to home. But as the amazing type of people we all are we will bond together as a community and rise above this crisis. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims and we pray that their recovery is speedy...our thoughts are with the students and other faculty as they try to deal with the events. We send peace to the family of the suspect, who in the midst of everything are dealing with something I would never want to imagine.

Parents, as you say good night to your children this evening, remind them that you love them. Remind them how amazing they are!

The People Behind My Characters!

The current project that I am working on involves two characters whose "back story" is based very closely on some close friends of mine. In fact, so close that their pictures hang above my workstation. As each of the character's arcs have been created and researched they have transitioned into their very own person.

However, the last several weeks I have found it difficult to write. Quite frankly, it hasn't been all that enjoyable. A couple days ago as I lay in bed, attempting to work out my own frustrations I realized what my hang up had been.

The female character is based off of my best friend since childhood. The male is a former boyfriend of hers who remains closely knit with our family. I realized subconsciously that I was trying to protect them. I was having issues going on, because some of the dark things from my characters past have nothing to do with my friends. With that I was trying to protect them from people putting two and two together and realizing who the story is based on.

WHAT A ROOKIE MISTAKE!

Other than a couple close friends and family, no one will have any idea. As it stands the story is most diffently loosely based on their lives. The characters stand on their own and have made desicions leading them down a completely different path than those of my friends. They were simply the base as they were meant to be, so I could build a whole different story. As writers each of us could take the same beginning and build multiple stories from it. It's what we do! We create!

Why bear it all today? First, so I can move on and second, so new writers know that even those of us who have been writing a while still make rookie mistakes!

People Watching

People watching is one of my favorite activities! There is so much that an author can create from people they don't even know. There stories flow through us and liven our projects. Do you like to people watch? If so what kind of things have you learned from it? This week take the time to sit back and watch human behavior!

Sunday Sayings Series

Life isn't about sitting out the storm; its about dancing in the rain!

For those of us who need the motivation this week!

Sunday Sayings Series

Anyone who says they only have one life to live has never read a book!

Hometown Heroes: William Inge

This summer as promised we have spent many hours in my house researching some of our hometown heroes. The kids are a little skeptical about posting all their findings as of yet, so I told them I would go first. I from the southeast corner of Kansas. I lived in Cherryvale, but born in Independence. There will be several people I will introduce to you from that neck of the woods. Of course with my heroes I had to also have a group of villains; people that will ultimately be the subject of my next big project!

Anyway on to heroes for now! One of the most influential heroes to come out of Independence was the playwright, William Inge. He wrote a number of scripts that were set in the background of our Midwest home. He wrote such great works as Picnic, Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Bus Stop(starring Marilyn Monroe) and Splendor in the Grass(starring Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty). Not to mention winning an Academy Award for which I will eternally be jealous of. He is who every young writer is compared to in a 30 mile radius. Years ago I wrote a research paper about him and I would like to share pieces of it with you. Feel free to google some of the highlights as it will give you an even more in depth look at myself. But first here is the introduction that I wrote for the piece itself.

Excerpt from The Son of Independence:

A Note About the Author:

I grew up near the town of Independence, Kansas. An experience that has left me with three strong remembrances: Neewollah, theater, and William Inge. As a young person interested in the lime light of theatre, William Inge was an unavoidable subject. His impressions on the theatrical life remains there still influencing generations of today.

In the beginning of this project, I felt as if I had taken on the spirit of Independence itself and in some way I believed that by writing about Inge in some way I was preserving it. Throughout the progress of this paper, I have found it hard not to insert my own opinions or beliefs. It is difficult not to add a "I know what he is talking about," when Mr. Inge describes the atmosphere of our home. And most of all it is so hard for me to refer to him as Mr. Inge instead of his hometown reference of Billy.

It's not odd that Inge's theatrical influence is still thick in Independence. It is not unlikely for actors preparing for the evening show at Independence Community College to go and rub the bust of Inge for luck. There are a select group of actors that even spend the afternoon talking to it. Maybe, what they are trying to do is capture a little of that Inge magic. It's not uncommon for a successful student writer to be referred to as the next William Inge. He's everywhere...and as a theatrical student, I'll admit jealousy has struck me more than once. He's left big shoes for us to fill. I only hope that in my work with the theater and writing that I strive to capture the essence of people the way that Billy did and if something big happens, I hope that I remain as humble.

Big people come from small towns.-William Inge

Sunday Sayings Series

Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled, "This could change your life."