Finding My Muse

"I do not know how any one can live without some small place of enchantment."
~Cross Creek, 1943

Some of you may know I am writing a novel. I started it a very long time ago and put it down. Then I picked it up and worked on it some more. And then I put it down again. I am now very motivated to complete it. My mind is much more clear and I think the story is a good one. So now, of course, is the difficult part...bringing the story to life.

I'm proud to be able to say I have a pretty strict writing schedule and I am actually getting some work done. Pretty crappy work, but work nonetheless.

I decided to take myself and a friend on a little field trip this past Monday. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings lived and wrote in a small town about 1.5 hrs from where I live. I've visited her home previously though it was many years ago. If you are not familiar, Ms Rawling wrote Cross Creek and The Yearling as well as many other books.

For me, there is something truly magical about walking around the property of a writer. The knowledge that Ms. Rawlings walked were I was walking, she looked out from her writing room and saw the same landscape that I was seeing, and because her house was not air-conditioned  back in the '30's as it was not air-conditioned on the day I visited, we both felt the same humidity and heat. I love knowing that though separated by about 80 years, I was able to experience a part of her life.

The purpose for the trip was to get a glimpse into this writer's life and to in gather some of Ms Rawlings mojo. I hoped some of it would slid off onto me.

As a blossoming writer myself, it was crystal clear to me how peaceful and remote her spot on the earth was, gifting her with peace and quiet. That peace and quiet is a requisite for my everyday life but certainly a necessity for my writing life.

The museum was not open on the day we visited but we still were able to peek in through the windows and scout around. Thunder rumbled in the distance yet we did not rush. I took a boatload of pics to share with you.

 

I was so excited to see this sign...we were getting close

The locals told us that because of all the heavy rains we've had this year, Cross Creek actually has water in it.

A wonderful old pump

It doesn't take a lot to excite me - an old bucket

Ms Rawlings 1940 Oldsmobile

Marjorie Rawling's old homestead, lovely isn't it?

May you, too, find your muse to help you unfold into your dreams!

Blessings.