I recently realized that certain songs tend to get me in the mood–to write, that is. I decided to keep a list of these inspiring, creativity-inducing songs, and noticed a particular pattern: It seems I am most inspired by songs that include piano, and/or by mellow melodies rich with melancholy, and/or by heartbreaking lyrics I wish I had written myself. Here is my ever-lengthening Writing Playlist:
Fine Frenzy, “Almost Lover”
Coldplay, “The Scientist”
Gary Jules, “Mad World”
The entire soundtrack to the film Dances with Wolves
Lest you miss it like Fitzgerald’s Daisy Buchannan in his novel The Great Gatsby admits to doing each year, I feel compelled to make you aware that today is the first day of summer, also known as the Summer Solstice. It’s the longest day of the year, in terms of daylight hours. In the opening chapters of The Great Gatsby, when Nick is first reunited with Daisy and Tom, Daisy asks, “Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it.” When her friend, Jordan Baker, responds with, “We ought to plan something,” Daisy asks, “What’ll we plan? What do people plan?” When I first read The Great Gatsby in my junior English class when I was 16 or 17 years old, I was fascinated by the character of Daisy Buchannan. She was beautiful and desirable and the seemingly random things she said, like the above, captivated me as they did Gatsby and Nick and apparently many other men who met her. But mostly, I think I found her so admirable because I wanted someone to love me the way Gatsby loved her. It must be so delicious to be so admired. My 32-year-old self has a somewhat different opinion on Ms. Daisy Buchannan, but that is neither here nor there. What matters here is the fact that despite my changed view of her character, Daisy’s words have stuck with me these fifteen or sixteen years since my first reading of them, and I have felt an obligation–however unmet (up until now)–to recognize and celebrate the longest day of the year ever since, or at the very least, not to miss it.
This year, I finally succeeded. And I took it to a-whole-nother level. I didn’t make epic plans for just the longest day of the year; I made epic plans for the entire weekend leading up to it, as well.
So, Ms. Daisy Buchannan, since before Nick could answer you, you became suddenly distracted by your bruised pinky finger, here is what people plan–and thank you for the inspiration.
Saturday’s Summer Solstice Agenda
1. South of the James Farmers Market
We kicked off our weekend before the longest day of the year strolling through the South of the James Farmers Market and eating lunch out of food trucks there (Goatacado and Intergalactic Taco). We were able to purchase all sorts of locally sourced products, from a hand-carved wooden door stop to handcrafted soap; from a chocolate mini bell pepper plant for our vegetable garden to homemade, human-grade dog treats for the pups; from bumper stickers to T-shirts, just to name a few. Picture above, I enjoy lunch at a picnic table at the edge of the farmers market with my husband (behind me) and my best friend (far left), who made the trip down from Pennsylvania specifically for the summer solstice celebration we had planned.While the South of the James Farmers Market is very pet-friendly (we saw dogs, cats, and goats there!), our own pups stayed home (bringing them along would have meant making them wait in the car during our next adventure, which would have been unwise at best and murderous at worst). We didn’t forget them, though! When we got home, I treated them to homemade, human-grade dog treats we purchased from one of the vendors at the market.
Over thirty friends and family members turned out with dishes to share to celebrate the Summer Solstice with us on Saturday night. Above, amid lanterns and moonlight, some of them gather around the bonfire.A good friend and I pose under the twinkly lights and beside one of the glowing lanterns in celebration of the approaching longest day of the year. Our Summer Solstice Potluck Celebration has likely become an annual tradition, which will ensure I never “watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it” (though I will be watching for it!).
Sunday Summer Solstice Agenda
1. A trip to Belle Isle on the James River
My husband and I spent about an hour sitting on the rocks of Belle Isle with my best friend, who took this photograph, watching the whitewater rafting tours go by, admiring the many herons fishing for brunch, and wading in the warm, rushing waters of the James.
2. Father’s Day Food Truck Lunch
This particular Sunday was not only the Sunday before the Summer Solstice, but also Father’s Day, so after our time at the river, we headed to Stone Brewery to meet my parents for lunch from Monique’s Crepes. Later that night, we celebrated my dad again when we brought Chinese food over to my parents’ house for dinner.
Monday Summer Solstice Agenda
1. Soak up the Sun at Pony Pasture
After a walk with my dogs, a run through my neighborhood, and a few household chores, I set aside a few of the daylight hours on this the longest day of the year to write, read, sleep, and just generally relax at Pony Pasture on the James River.
So, I say to Daisy and the rest of you: 1) Perhaps you can now understand why, despite the ever-lengthening days, I haven’t had time to squeeze in a blog post over the last week, and 2) We have almost two hours of daylight left (at least in my neck of the woods) in the longest day of the year. Carpe Diem!
Since I have begun authoring this blog, attending writers’ workshops and conferences, submitting more of my works for possible publication, and working on my novel, I have been amazed at the outpouring of support, encouragement, and advice I have received from fellow writers–as well as how much their faith in me has motivated me to really put myself out there. I am a fairly motivated and ambitious person anyway, but there have been many times the last several months when just that one person telling me to send an article there or write a piece for that publication made the difference between my considering doing something, and my actually doing it.
My talented brother-in-law designed the preliminary cover for my novel-in-progress. The logo for this blog and for the W.O.W Network are also his work.
I credit fellow blogger Millie Schmidt with encouraging me to continue my quest for novel completion and publication with her post The Big 5. I credit a dear friend for a piece of mine that ran earlier this week in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. She let me know the column was looking for submissions and encouraged me to submit–and then fueled my fire by telling me some of her own work had been accepted. I also credit her for the fact that a piece of mine is scheduled to run in the same publication, though in a different column, next month. I credit my incredibly talented sister, freelance writer Anne Shaw, and my fellow W.O.W Network blogger, Charlene Jimenez, as well as my willing interview subjects, Kris Spisak and Valley Haggard, for the fact that writeHackr plans in August/September to republish two interviews from this very blog (one here and one here). I also credit Charlene Jimenez for the existence of this blog, and for encouraging me to use wattpad as a platform for my novel-in-progress. Earlier this week, I began to publish chapters of the novel in serial form there, and this post is an invitation for you to join my ever-growing network of supporters, friends, and readers. I invite (implore, beg…whatever) you to read my novel as it appears on wattpad. If you like it, please follow it, vote for it, tell your friends about it, etc.
If you are a reader, you can visit Kazabo.com and fill out a profile. As soon as a book or author that they think you will enjoy emerges, they’ll notify you.
Kazabo has a phenomenal program in the works for emerging authors, as well. As an emerging author, you can send them your book. They will then send you five books to review. You have a certain amount of time to turn in your review of each book, and after you have done so, your own book will be reviewed. Beyond that step, one of two things can happen: either they will seek you out for a publishing contract (!) or they won’t–but you will still have several reviews of your work, and from there, you can revise it, and potentially try again. Even if your work is not selected for publication, the feedback would be invaluable for future success. For more information on how to get involved, check out their FAQs.
As for me, I have already completed my New Author Registration (it was super quick and easy), and just as soon as I finish revising draft three of Goodbye For Now, I plan to send it in! It’s a win-win: I get to read several new books and help other aspiring authors, receive unbiased feedback on my own work, and maybe even see my novel published.
If you know of any aspiring authors, please share this information with them by sharing this post on your social media sites, or otherwise sending them to my blog!
