This last week we have been blessed with sunny weather and I’ve been making the most of getting out in nature. Spring is a magical time when the earth reawakens after the sleep of winter. There are green shoots on the trees, daffodils nodding their yellow trumpets wisely and snowdrop bells delicately decorating the woods. In Swindon, crocus flowers growing on the verges bring splashes of orange, purple and pink to cheer passing motorists, bus passengers and cyclists. Our Town Gardens put on a beautiful display with multi-coloured flower beds. I love these signs of rebirth that assure me that there is beauty in the world.
Now, you’re probably wondering why I’m waxing lyrical about spring instead of the art of writing?
For me, the rhythms of the seasons mirror the processes of writing. I have moments in the writing of a novel when I’m in the ‘spring’ stage – ideas come to me like fresh shoots, plots spread like a network of roots and buds of characters start to blossom. When ‘summer’ arrives the book comes together and is near completion. Next is the tough period of the ‘autumn’ of edits – when I know that some of my ‘marvellous’ prose needs to be stripped away like falling leaves to reveal the story’s core, its framework, its branches of characters, plots and resolution. Finally, the nakedness of the tree in ‘winter’ reflects my vulnerability when I launch my novel into the world.
I hope you’ve been enjoying my Paige Harper Mystery series 😊set during different seasons of the year.
Thank you for reading me. Any comments welcome.