Monday, January 4, 2010

My Saltmine


There’s just too much work at hand. I’m buried. I’ll be in my office all day and all night. Forgive me for being such a terrible blogger. But, I really don’t have much of a post today. My head is so full I can’t even come up with anything to say here. Zilch.

So I leave you with a thought provoking quote from an extraordinary author:


~~ A story is not like a road to follow … it's more like a house. You go inside and stay there for a while, wandering back and forth and settling where you like and discovering how the room and corridors relate to each other, how the world outside is altered by being viewed from these windows. And you, the visitor, the reader, are altered as well by being in this enclosed space, whether it is ample and easy or full of crooked turns, or sparsely or opulently furnished. You can go back again and again, and the house, the story, always contains more than you saw the last time. It also has a sturdy sense of itself of being built out of its own necessity, not just to shelter or beguile you.

— Alice Munro


All Rights Reserved. © 2009 by Elizabeth Bradley.

14 comments:

Suldog said...

Your "saltmine" looks very nice - warm, comfy. Mine is relatively ugly, as it sits behind the ironing board by a little cold window. No wonder I'm such a grump most of the time. I need better working conditions.

Rosaria Williams said...

Perfect quote! Thanks for bringing it to us.

ellen abbott said...

Me too. I'm afraid my own blog will be quite sparse this week.

Donna M. Kohlstrom said...

Your saltmine looks inviting. I could easily hang out there!

Some days us writers are just at a loss for words...and that's okay!

Elspeth Futcher said...

Alice Munro; what a wise woman. I'm impressed you posted at all if you're that bogged down. Congrats. Have a cracker to go with all that salt you're dragging out of the mine.

Elspeth

Jemi Fraser said...

What a great quote - Munro is always interesting!

Fireblossom said...

Send up a flare when you can, Lady!

Tamika: said...

Love the quote! I know I read to escape, I want my readers to find the same serenity.

Happy New Year!

♥ Boomer ♥ said...

Your office is lovely! And a great quote!

The romantic query letter and the happy-ever-after said...

I like that, a story as a house appeals to. Thanks for sharing and here is hoping tomorrow is a better day.
Warm regards,
Simone

Lauri said...

I love the bit about how when you're in the house/story the world is altered by the view out the window. Yes. yes. That is it the essence of a good story in many ways. It hands you that view to store in the fold of your white matter forever, to merge and play with all the other views there. How lovely.

I'm desperate too right now. Elizabeth- you might try pre-posting. I now do three posts a week, all written on Sunday. My new system.

I want that office chair. It looks so comfy. Mine has died after a long illness. I'm back to a kitchen chair until roylaty cheques are written.

Nancy said...

I may come back and copy that quote for my Intention Board -it's really a good one. We don't need to know the whole story before we begin writing. We can wander around a bit.

Boozy Tooth said...

That's a kickass Saltmine if I ever saw one, Elizabeth. I think you've shared that photo with us before... or a similar one. It looks like a comfortable, peaceful place where wonderful ideas come to life. If you must slave away, better to do it in style.

Alice's quote is right on the money. Thanks for giving us that.

Crystal Posey said...

Nice work station!