“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” -2 Corinthians 12:9-11
Above is a picture that I took of what I have lovingly christened, 'The Wall of Writers.' I had to wait until about four in the afternoon to take it, because that is the time when the sun simply pours into the bedroom, and bathes everything with a warm, buttery light. The elephants hanging from the ceiling came from a friend who travels all around the world. He usually brings back a pencil (I have a Mona Lisa pencil from the Louvre, for instance), but at Hong Kong, he found these elephants, and I think they are amazing. The clock, for all interested, came from Amsterdam, when my Mom was my age, and traveling overseas to teach.
Anyway, Wall of Writers, meet the readers. Readers, Wall of Writers.
Pleasure.
These are the men and women who have inspired me, and artistically stimulated me over the years. Who sparked my interest in words, and allowed me to see how powerful books can really be; who separated my brain and my mind, and unleashed my oeuvre-
When you use the word 'oeuvre,' you're getting a bit carried away, love.
In short, they help me write.
I feel like it's almost a given that all writers sometimes feel like they either can't write, or shouldn't write. I know I have. Harper Lee certainly did. The Wall helps me remember that writers are real people. Good books, books that seem amazing and wonderful and perfect, don't come from amazingly perfect people. They come from writers, and these writers are my friends, and my advocates.
They help me remember that I need to always carve some time out of my busybusy life to continue in my writing journey with conviction and courage, because I have a story to tell, and it's definitely important, and worth telling. Who would be on your wall?
So, starting now, I will be creating posts that introduce you to each of my Writers, and share what it is about him or her that inspires me, in hopes that it will inspire you. Because that's what the Wall of Writers is about, really; inspiration, which is the breath of life for novels.
I guess the real question is: which writer shall I start with? I certainly couldn't do it by order of preference, because there is no GRAND FAVORITE AUTHOR for me. It would be like picking a favorite rabbit, which is completely impossible.
Maybe I'll close my eyes and point, or simply go in chronological order, or perhaps I'll just have a conference with The Wall, and see what they think.
Now we're speaking to the Wall of Writers, are we?
In my defense, Johnny, writers have to be a little bit crazy sometimes. If you can't handle crazy, then you can't really be a GRAND AUTHOR. Trust me, 'A bit of madness is key, to give us new colors to see.' That is from La La Land, I believe.
Dream on, dear writers, and never stop.
I shall conference with my advocates shortly, so prepare to meet the methods to this madness soon. In the meantime,
Write- Right now.