Writing Muse

by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

The start of a new year refreshes my muse. Getting past the solstice and putting away holiday decorations makes me look forward to the twelve new months. While some folks set goals, I have a few, the biggest challenge is to slow down and remain in the now. Luckily Mother Nature likes to send me artwork on a regular basis.

I took this photo on Christmas Eve morning in my backyard, in my jammies. A former photojournalist, I always have my cameras with me or within reach. For some reason I woke up early and decided to just get up; rare, since staying in a comfy warm bed is one of life’s great pleasures. Digging into my oatmeal, the rays of this amazing sunrise spilled onto the breakfast table. I was out the back door. 

Life is like that. If you sleep late, don’t look out the window and keep the curtains closed, you miss the good stuff. If you slog to the day job and don’t notice the amazing ice pattern on the red berries outside your office, you miss out. Make long-range writing plans, but embrace the present.

While we are launching ourselves into a new year of writing, ebooks and digital media, (oh my!) don’t forget to stay in the now. Your future might be right in front of you, trying to get your attention. Will you take the time to see it when it waves?

by Kimberly A. Cook                 (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Growing up in the 1960s there were many role models for women; feminists, stay at home moms, movie stars and women entering the workforce. To say the mixed messages were confusing to young girls is an understatement. 

http://youtu.be/Xa1jVVmXS-c

The 1960s superwoman image and the do it all mantra was trumpeted. Seemed illogical to me. Watching my own mother juggle taking care of a home, two daughters, work two part-time jobs, attend college, lead my Camp Fire Group and hold down the fort while Dad worked out-of-town on long business trips; it became clear to me the “news” might be fibbing. Picking a few roles seemed possible, but not all of them at once.

Who became one of my female role models? Actress Hayley Mills. Watching “The Wonderful World of Disney” on Sunday nights rocked. When her teenage movies came out, I decided I wanted to be like Hayley; a pirate, princess and tomboy. The movie “The Moon-Spinners” had me fall in love with romantic suspense, adventure and Greece. It also introduced me to author Mary Stewart, a lifetime favorite.

From “That Darn Cat!” to “Summer Magic,” I always found a message in her films which spoke to me about being a woman who can take many paths, not just the one society decided I should take. If Hayley could have adventures, travel and do what she wanted, so could I. Being a warrior and a writer would be okay in Hayley’s world. 

Her favorite film of mine is “The Truth ABout Spring,” a British movie she did with her father, actor John Mills, and James MacArthur of the first “Hawaii 5-0” fame. It’s a fun movie about growing up, doing what one needs to make ends meet, and to never give up. There’s always a secret escape route just around the rocks whenever you’re in a jam.

With 2012 heading this way at full speed, I like to ponder what my creativity and life goals will be for the new year. January begins like a clean whiteboard I can diagram with colored pens to my heart’s content. If I get stuck and life seems too complicated or ugly, I can always pull out my secret weapon; what would Hayley Mills do? 

Do you have a childhood role model? It might be time to revisit that person with fresh eyes and find the inspiration you got years ago. Why not? Happy adventures in 2012!

by Kimberly A. Cook       

What Is Your Pumpkin Pie Book? One of my favorite authors, Janet Evanovich, releases her new book today Explosive Eighteen. What better Thanksgiving treat! I enjoy her writing so much I always stay at least one book behind in the series so I know I’ll have one to fall back on. Drives my reader friends nuts. But just like keeping cookies in the freezer and M&Ms in the chocolate bowl; military training taught me to always have back up snacks. Same rule goes for books.

So after I snatch up my copy and add it to the pristine pile of her books in my office, that means I get to curl up with one of the series this weekend. Like Tom Turkey and my Mom’s fabulous stuffing, taking time to indulge in a favorite book is a great way to celebrate the holidays. The only better thing than reading her books was learning her first movie based on the series will be out in January.

 http://youtu.be/hQBD1olZe8U

What is your pumpkin pie book? Which book(s) have you waited in line for? Which ones are still on your keeper shelf or always on your iPhone, Nook or Kindle? Do you have a long lost book you’ve always wanted to find? I have several and tracking them down is a great pleasure. The thrill of the hunt.

 Have a wonderful safe and Happy Thanksgiving and remember, reading can take you to worlds away from where you are. Then when you come back from your travels, there will still be leftovers in the kitchen!

by Kimberly A. Cook                        (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Before first grade I wanted to read; very badly. I didn’t know the words so I made up stories about the pictures in the books. At the ripe old age of six, I earned a spot on the Reading Train engine because I read 100 books in first grade.

I’ve never stopped reading. Then at the ancient age of ten, I knew I was a writer. It just happened. Since that was the same year I had a six-inch growth spurt, my vision went to crap and my hormones took off, seems like it was a good anchor in turbulent times.

Stints on the school newspapers in junior and senior high, yearbook staff and a great English Department in my high school led me to study writing in college when I graduated early from high school. That lasted one semester.  College and I were not ready for each other yet and I joined the Army.  But I knew I would write about it so I had my folks keep all my letters.

College degrees and jobs followed after the Army with newspaper journalist, photographer, public affairs officer, trainer, writing instructor, video production coordinator, author and speaker added to my resume.  So a few decades since high school graduation, why do I still write?

 The easy answer is I write to educate and entertain, both with my non-fiction and fiction writing. Now I lean more towards entertainment and making folks laugh. It’s fun and it beats what’s in the news. I’ve used writing for catharsis and to heal, to communicate with family and friends and to say goodbye to dying former students.  Writing works for all kinds of situations, just like Silly Putty.

“You’re not happy when you’re not writing,” my Mom told me once. Mom’s do know best. I write because I have to, it’s a compulsion, a need. My name is Kim and I’m addicted to words. 

A quote I keep on my desk explains my brain. “You see, some of us have grasshopper minds. We want to be fascinated by a subject only for a certain time, and then move on,” said J.A. Maxtone Graham. A perfect description of a writer, especially a former journalist.

I’m also a big rabbit fan and my interests hop from subject to subject.  The rabbit agility course shown in Denmark on the Amazing Race Sunday night thrilled me no end; bunnies and obstacle courses. Now all I have to do is get them into Army fatigues. 

But perhaps the best thing about writing is the adventures I have read in a book which have enticed me to take trips to places around the world and in my own backyard. I am a writing adventuress. In a former life I’m sure I was a pirate.

 So when we get too wound up in the business side of writing – social media, agent getting, ebook formatting, and the career planning frenzy – let’s think about why we write. It’s different for each of us and one size does not fit all. Take the time to reflect on why you write while looking out the window with a cup of cocoa.  Unleash the grasshoppers!

by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter @WarriorTales) 

Everyone needs a vacation and writers are no exception. While writers are “on” all the time observing, watching life and dreaming things in the space between our ears, we do need to refill our creative cup. One of my favorite places to go is the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. www.osfashland.org

I recently returned from five days in this fabulous town and had a blast on the backstage tour and seeing Love’s Labor’s Lost and The Pirates of Penzance. See, I told you there were pirates involved.

This is the 76th season of the Tony Award winning regional theatre and they have 10 plays in repertory this year. The three theatres, the Elizabethan Stage, the Angus Bowmer and the New Theatre offer four different plays each day, which then rotate the next day. Mondays they all take a day off. Well earned.

This year an additional challenge occurred when the main supporting beam in the Angus Bowmer Theatre cracked and they had to move plays immediately. The technical crew and actors did an amazing job to deal with and recover from “Beamageddon” while still putting the plays on in alternate venues. It took six weeks for the beam to be repaired. We heard the inside scoop from our backstage tour host actor Jeffrey King who shared his love of acting and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. 

Being around artists of all kinds rewards and energizes the creative muse and lets the imagination dance.  I asked King what his thoughts were about the movie soon to be out, Anonymous, which tries to make folks believe Shakespeare didn’t actually write the plays and sonnets.

“To an actor, what really matters is the story,” he replied. “I believe Shakespeare wrote the plays, but for an actor, it doesn’t really matter who wrote it. It’s all about the story.”

Which brings us back to the true lesson in being a storyteller and writer.  It’s the story, stupid! Make it the best it can be. Sounds like an old Army ad, imagine that.