Arizona’s summer skies tease us. They fill with evening thunderclouds, dust us with virga, and taunt us with distant lightning. Then...nothing. No wild thunderstorm to thrill our souls, no rain to soothe our parched earth or dusty throats. Nothing but hot dry wind.
Until early this morning, when a gentle rain fell for hours, the sweet pungent smell of creosote filling the air.
It’s raining words, too. At least here in my computer. Last weekend, the outline for The Black Pit came together like a perfect summer storm, and I’ve been obsessed ever since.
Can’t seem to think about much else. I’ll post more soon. Promise.
Arizona summer weather writers daily life writing diary
13 comments:
oh--if you only knew how much i loves skies like that!
incredible photo.
and the thought of warm gentle rain falling for hours...my god, how inviting. i can smell it clear across the country--through your words alone.
so it is not just the skies which taunt and tease ;-)
I love it when the creativity channel turns on in my head! It hasn't happened much recently, but I am happy to cheer it on in others. You go, Elizabth!
Hi Elizabeth,
Nice photo! Glag to hear your writing is pouring out, unlike the rain in the desert. How did you approach your outline? I'm wondering about this as I get closer to creating one in detail myself.
Jessie, it's always so nice when you stop by because I know how much you appreciate photos and stories about weather and place!
Bonnie, you're ALWAYS creative!
Richard, writing an outline is right up there with sausage making. I finally stopped trying to "write" an outline, and instead set down a simple bulleted outline - just like the kind you probably wrote in high school. (Except I always wrote them after I'd written the story.) After getting all the information down in this bulleted format, all the writing fell into place. Maybe our high school English teachers knew something after all.
Dana Bunion always says that - that outlining makes the writing as easy as sipping a rum and coke.
Dana Bunion says lots of things.
I couldn't write an outline to save my life.
Well, I could. But when I wrote the book, it wouldn't look anything like it.
Great to hear, Elizabeth! Glad to know it's going well.
Oh, I had to send my hubby a link to your blog because he, for some odd reason, is obsessed with clouds. Great picture and good luck with your writing, my outlines never end up looking anything like the book, but for some reason it comforts me having it. It makes me feel organized and like I have a plan, even if I know I'm going to completely go off course at some point!
Oh - how I miss that. I love Arizona weather. Nothing like a good hot baseball game with lightening in the background or a nice monsoon storm coming out of nowhere. You have such beautiful skies in Arizona - thank you for sharing.
M.G., Maybe Dana Bunion knows more than we think!
Sandra and Mai Wen, in non-fiction the outline sells the book so it's not like I have much choice. But I'm definitely finding the process more rewarding than I thought.
Brett, can one ever describe sausage-making as "going well"? ;-)
September, stay tuned. More Arizona skies to come!
I'm officially reserving my autographed copy.
You're a sweetheart, Plantation!
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