Inspired by Winter…
Don’t get me wrong, I do more than my fair share of complaining about the bitter cold, the shoveling of icy slush, the power outages, and the bad driving conditions. But, there are parts of winter that I adore.
The Stillness.
The soft static of snow falling on snow. Or the eerie songs of coyotes serenading the moon, and each other.
The Beauty.
Drifts of diamond-dust sparkling in the sunlight. Twigs sheathed in ice. Pale apricot dawns and mysterious blue twilights.
The Clarity.
Winter allows me to “see the forest”. By that I mean, without all the greenery, I see the contours of the land, the rocky outcroppings, the trunks of trees, and the sky between them.
When I’m writing I sometimes get lost in my own story’s “foliage”, the pretty words, the symbolic imagery, the characters’ personality quirks. What I need then is a fierce cold snap, followed by ruthless wind gusts. Strip all those leaves away so I can see the rise and fall of the plot. I review my work without luxuriating in “the pretty”, instead focusing solely on the action, the turning points, the skeletal remains of the story. Because that’s often the only thing that survives in the reader’s mind.
What are your feelings about winter?
Please join the Thursday’s Children Blog Hop and tell us about whatever inspires you.
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Rhiann Wynn-Nolet 
The website is lovely– clean in the way that fees the mind to wander yet engaging in a manner that invites it in. 🙂 Welcome to WordPress family! I’m WP.org. So enjoyed your beautiful wintery insights. Have a great 2013. ❤
Thank you so much 🙂 It’s going to be a great year, for me and my writerly friends. I just know it.
What a coincidence, Rhiann! I keep a list of things I might blog about on my desk, and the entry at the top of the list is “Winter’s Inspiration.” You’ve crafted a much more eloquent case than I would’ve. I crave winter’s solitude and quiet, and the coziness of being inside in a warm Irish sweather and wool socks really fuels my work as well.
The blog site is really gorgeous. Congrats. And best wishes in the year to come!
It’s true. The coziness of sweaters and cocoa and candlelight enhance the enjoyment of winter. Best wishes to you too 🙂
You know, I reeeeeally dislike the frigid winters here in New England (could the Pilgrims have landed a little further south? Past Plymouth, & definitely past Roanoke?) but There is something magical and lovely about snow. Personally I often forget what happens in a novel, but I always remember if the language was lyrical and a pleasure to read. So don’t underestimate the value & power of your eloquence. It’s really a gift.
Well, that’s good to know-I’d LIKE to think there are lots of readers like you (and like me because I’m the same way). I so often read “the prose was transparent” – meaning it didn’t “get in the way of the story”, so maybe I worry too much about that.
Winter inspires me most because… it’s easier to say in and work and the bright sun’s calling you outside 🙂
Overcast skies, white roads, and freezing temperatures can be just the inspiration a writer needs.
Thanks for sharing this.
PS: I hate the new link to the Linky. But I know you do too, so I’m just rubbing it in ;p
Haha. I think winter is often most enjoyable from the cozy indoors. Ah yes, the Linky…it’s despicable.
I love this post! The contrasts of Winter never fail to amaze me–barren, yet full of texture and beauty. And it truly reflects those aspects of writing you so vividly described.
Well, you of ALL people are certainly inspired by Winter, and you’ve written so lyrically about it.
I love seeing a huge field after a snowstorm, that big expanse of unbroken snow that sparkles is absolutely beautiful. Of course, I hate driving in the snow but I love to watch the big fluffy flakes from inside with my fireplace going. Add a cup of hot chocolate and my computer for a little writing and I’m in heaven.
That DOES sound like writer’s heaven 🙂
I love seeing a huge field after a snow storm, that expanse of unbroken snow sparkling in the sun is absolutely beautiful. Of course, I hate driving in the snow but I do like to watch the big fluffy flakes from inside with a cup of hot chocolate, my fireplace and my laptop.
VERY cool post. I never would’ve thought about it this way. I love the analogy though. We don’t get much of a winter down in GA, but I always love writing during thunderstorms. Something about the thunder and lightning crashing outside while I’m safe and warm inside tends to bring out the best in my creativity.
Love the new blog!! I’m thinking about switching myself because, nine times out of ten, I can’t reply to anyone in my comment section. Not sure what’s wrong with my blog, but it’s been screwed up for well over a month now.
I notice you can’t see your followers on this though. That seems kind of odd. Did most of them follow you over here? And how do you even know how many you have now? Is there some kind of feature you can see, but I can’t?
Sorry for all the questions!! I’d appreciate any info. you can give me. 🙂
See now thunder and lightning doesn’t work for me creatively because I’m surrounded by panting, frightened dogs then 🙂 Blog questions-I can see how many followers I have on my dashboard. So far most of my old followers haven’t migrated. I may have to “woo” them or something. I think they don’t show up as Inklings because I haven’t enabled the “show numbers” part of that widget. Or something else-I am still working out the tech angles in between revising and other things. I switched because popular and “expert” opinion seemed to be that WP was what writers should have. I ended up buying the dotcom and customizable themes and no ads etc as part of a $99 year subscription. We’ll see if I think it was worth it next December 🙂
Muhahaha. You can be everyone’s WordPress guinea pig 🙂
As long as I’m not shipped off to Peru, I consent to being a guinea pig. Kristina has WP too, but she’s far more skilled on the tech side than I am. In fact I’m letting her tinker behind the scenes on my blog because she seems to almost enjoy that sort of challenge. Shudder.
Thanks for the info. Rhiann. My blog FINALLY seems to have fixed itself, which negates the need to make any quick decisions. I really hate technical stuff and i’m REALLY bad at it–Blogger is so nice and easy. haha…I might eventually still switch though. I really love the look of this new blog!
I love your new blog layout! And this is a great post 🙂 I live in the English countryside and snowy days are wonderful sources of inspiration there… Happy writing in 2013!
Ooo lovely. English countryside is so beautiful. Jealous of all that half-timbered thatchiness and castle goodness. Thanks for visiting 🙂
Beautiful photos. I miss snow and getting to wear a winter coat here in Hong Kong. Hope the doggies had a good run and you didn’t freeze too much!
Thank you! Yes, the doggies had a good run and looked adorable in their new jackets. Unfortunately my fingers were too frozen to work the camera on my phone.
I’m not a fan of driving in the snow and ice, but there’s nothing I like more in the winter than seeing frozen drifts sparking after a storm and ice coated branches glistening in the sun – particularly if that happens during a snow day and I can enjoy it from inside my house rather than driving the kids to school. 🙂
And I love this “What I need then is a fierce cold snap, followed by ruthless wind gusts. Strip all those leaves away so I can see the rise and fall of the plot.” That’s a perfect description!
Yes, all that crystalline sparkle is amazing. Nature, the master jeweler 🙂
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Lovely post, lovely imagery. And it’s a cold slap in the face, for truth, what would summer’s greenery be without the bones of winter beneath, or beautiful words without the bones of story…?
Thank you Bernadette, and thank you for stopping by 🙂