Inspiration from Nature

I'm trying not to make this blog too personal to my everyday life, as it is stricly my writers blog, but sometimes it's hard to distinguish the two when personal happenings in my day-to-day life affect my writing and ideas. For instance: last Tuesday a group of friends and I went hiking to Stewart Falls up Provo Canyon. This was the first time I had gone hiking in a long time and I really enjoyed it (as surprising to some as that might be). The trees and flowers were unbelievably beautiful and reminded me a lot of home in Oregon (which you must know by now how much I adore). And the waterfall was huge and breathtaking! I didn't climb as high up as a few people in my group did, but I could still feel the spray of water down below. Here are a few pictures:

A view of the entire waterfall from the river down below

A closer-up view--so beautiful!

My crazy friends getting soaked near the top...my fear of heights kept me from climbing higher.

A look from a distant field

Although the waterfall was amazing, my favorite part of the hike was seeing nature along the trail. Like usual, most of the spots we hiked past reminded me of a couple of scenes from my novel. Without telling too much, there is a scene where Leah (the heroine) is walking home through the forest when a storm hits. The forest is covered with ferns and trees, and there's a cliff to the side of the road. Later, her and Evan (the prince) spend the morning in a large field in the middle of the forest. There's a creek cutting through the grass and hundreds of wildflowers, which is very similar to a field or two I saw along this hike. So I was greatly inspired, once again, and wanted to sit and write right there on the spot! Here are some more pictures of the beautiful forest and field:

The trail was thick with ferns and beautiful white aspens

The first field, covered in blue flowers

The second field

Some blue flowers up close. I wish I knew what they were called!

The view from the trail!

Bringing Jane Austen to Life

So, a couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine invited me and my best friend, Laura, to a Jane Austen Regency dance up on campus. Being the Jane Austen enthusiast that I am, I willingly agreed to see what the event was all about. It turned out that an older woman, who was well-educated on Old English dancing, taught us all the dances from Jane Austen's time, including some of the dances seen in the Pride and Prejudice and Emma movies! It was fun pretending to go back in time and become a character in one of Austen's novels. A lot of people (even guys!) dressed up for the dance, and there was a surprisingly large turn-out. I honestly think more people love Jane Austen and her time period than they'll let on to, especially since the movies are mostly seen as "chickflicks." But after taking a Jane Austen class last Fall and reading all her novels, it surprised me at how universal and pertinent some of the issues in her books really are. If you haven't read them, you need to give them a try--they're not simply romance novels, as the media makes them out to be, but extremely thought-provoking and relatable for our day. I recommend starting with Pride and Prejudice, as most Romantic Era British literature classes do. It's my favorite. =)

Anyway, back to the dance...a couple of camera men came from BYU Weekly, an on-campus news show that keeps students and alumni updated with events happening around campus. Well, this past week I found out that the Jane Austen Regency Dance was one of the stories on BYU Weekly and that I had been on TV! It was pretty exciting, I must say, so I felt the need to post the link on my blog. I'm not sure how long it will work for, but if you're interested, click on the link below to watch it. You'll probably have to download something in order for it to work.

http://www.byub.org/byuweekly/

After you click on the above link, make sure the date of the site is June 13, 2009. Once it begins to play, click "Jane Austen Regency" on the right of the screen. I'm wearing a white top and a yellow skirt. Try not to laugh too hard--I know I'm not the best dancer (or walker, for that matter), but it was a lot of fun to try dancing like couples from the later 1700s and a lot easier to learn than it looks.

Sometimes it blows my mind at how influential one author and her works can really be, even 200 years later! Austen has definitely been a role-model for me as a young, blooming author. Her characters are real and complex, her plots are revolutionary, and her novels are the kind you want to read over and over again. Honestly, where would the world be without Jane Austen?

The Goose Girl

I'm sure you're sick of hearing about books I just read and loved, but when they're amazing, I can't seem to keep them to myself! So here's my next recommendation: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. Yes, I know I'm going through a Shannon Hale phase right now, but her novels are REALLY good and can give you a taste of the kind of stories I write. This book gave me great ideas for my novel (as I am currently editing like crazy!) because the time periods are similar and both stories are based off of fairytales. I loved how unique and well-established her characters were, and I loved the details and metaphors she used. The creativity blows me away! I'm hoping to read the other two books in the Bayern Series soon: Enna Burning and River Secrets.

In my writing fiction class last fall semester, the two biggest pieces of advice I received were to 1) READ, READ, READ and 2) Find a mentor for your writing, whether it be a favorite author whose style of writing you emulate or a professor who has given you a lot of helpful feedback. Since I'm not taking any classes right now, I've been trying to read like crazy while I have the chance. And as for my mentor, well, Shannon Hale is my hero.

The Girl Who Could Fly

I love summer because it means spending time reading good books instead of staring at textbooks for hours at a time. And this past weekend I took a day trip to Boise and had plenty of time in the car to read! And what was my current find at the Provo Library? The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester. It was another great quick reads! I started it when we left on Saturday and finished it before I got home. I actually had to finish the last few chapters under a reading light, refusing to let the darkness stop me from seeing how everything turned out. Again, I recommend it (along with the other books on my blog) if you want a quick read.

As the title states, it's about a girl named Piper who was born with the ability to fly. After she becomes a "threat" to her small town, she is sent to a school where she meets other children with talents similar to her own. The book had a few twists and heart-stopping moments, never having a dull moment! I loved Victoria Forester's writing style as well with multiple perspectives and a tight plot. Reading great children's books like this one has been a huge help to me as I continue to edit and work on my own novel. So if you have a spare moment or are leaving for vacation soon, I totally recommend you read The Girl Who Could Fly because it's definitely worth it! (Don't you love how I promote these great books? I bet the authors do too...=))