Wandering in the Heart of Inspiration

Like I said last week, I've been gone for the last several days. Not too far away--approximately 20 miles in the heart of the city of Chicago. I've always lived in this area. I grew up with the skyline always in my sight. I used to run tame in the Field Museum (my favorite) and Clare almost got squished when we crossed the street to the Art Institute. It's been a long time, though since I spent a lot of time downtown. We took the time to play tourist in our own backyard and I have to say I learned some interesting things about my city. I also took tons of pictures. I'll have to post a few so I can share them with you.

My newest work in progress is set in the heart of the city. So, it was wonderful to be able to wander around, snapping pictures and really absorb the feel of the city. The rumble in the chest as the EL train bullets above Wabash, the glitter of diamonds in the windows of Jeweler's Row, the rainbows cast by the shooting sprays of Buckingham Fountain. I'm looking forward to really being able to get back into it. However, I have to change a couple of descriptions now!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Girls with Spunk

Katniss. Hermione. Lessa. Polgara. Lady Macbeth. Alright, I'll even give you Jane Eyre, but I refuse to add Bella into the mix of heroines who I believe are really kick ass. Now, admittedly, most of them are grown women, so I don't think it's fair to really pull them into the mix. I'll stick to the girls in the group--Hermione and Katniss, and because she's their exact opposite in all ways, Bella. Think about it. Back when all we had were fairy tales told to scare children, the spunkiest of the fairy tale heroines was Gretal who had the wherewithal to shove the witch in the oven and free her brother. I suppose she was one of the first heroines who really took the story in her own hands and proved to the world that we were more than damsels in distress waiting languidly in some tower for Prince Charming to rescue us. Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White--all waiting around for a prince to come and save them. Or in Cinderella's case weeping for a Fairy Godmot...
Read more

Things that Go Bump in the Night Contest!

I love Halloween. It's my favorite time of the year. The weather's turning cooler, the leaves are changing, and crunch underfoot when you walk. The sharp scents of mums and wood smoke linger in the air. It puts me in mind of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" or anything by Poe. We study Poe every October, my students and I. He confuses the heck out of the 8th graders at first. When they start to get it, I love seeing their eyes widen in joy at understanding, then at horror when they fully comprehend. Eventually, the conversation always turns to ghosties and the things that go bump in the night. Now, I also admit I'm a chicken. I love Halloween, but I love cutesy Halloween more than "the veil is thinnest" Halloween. I love ghost stories. One of my students once gave me a book called Haunted Heartland a book of "true" ghost stories from Illinois and the surrounding states. I honestly don't know what happened to it. My ...
Read more

Who Wants a Knight in Shining Armor Anyway?

Alright, full disclosure here . . . I gave damsels in distress a bit of a drubbing in my last blog post and I do stand by every word I said. I am so happy to see some strong heroines out there kicking butt, but I am also a sucker, every now and a then, for a well done D.I.D. tale. In fact, I use the line myself in the the blurb on the back of MY book--"She's a damsel in distres . . . " Of course, it's a little tongue in cheek and ten minutes after meeting the hero my heroine maces him. So . . . On to the gentlemen. We'll stick with the principals of the three stories I culled out last time-- Harry Potter ,  The Hunger Games and Twilight. Interesting to note that there are more guys in the stories than girls. Hmmm. Maybe that clues into not only the knight in shining armor fantasies as we speculated last time, but the desire to be persued? Something to think on. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. I know, they aren't both vying for Hermione's hand, and for ...
Read more