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The Thing About Stars

December 16, 2020 / Gail Lowe

The Winter Solstice, or Yule, will soon be upon us. December 21st will be a night of fire pushing back the cold. Flames dancing up from the fire pit to cast shadows over sleeping trees and snow-covered grass. Gravity-defying sparks breaking free from flame in a doomed attempt to join ranks with the stars above.

For one last day, darkness holds court.
And if the night is clear, we will sit beneath a blanket of stars.

If you have never warmed your toes by the fire on the longest night of the year while humming Here Comes The Sun by the Beatles, this is the year to give it a try. We are in for a rare celestial treat: The Christmas Star.

Saturn and Jupiter will be rubbing shoulders on December 21st. You can already map these planets in our night sky as they move into position. These celestial giants haven’t been this close to each for almost 800 years. Genghis Khan was alive the last time these planets were close enough to appear as one massive star.

It’s called the Great Conjunction and it’s happening on the Winter Solstice, adding even more potency to the powerful energy Yule brings for regeneration and renewal.

I’m taking it as a good omen. Something the world needs right now.

Let the magic of the Winter Solstice into your life. Light candles. Make wishes. Release what no longer serves you by writing it on a piece of paper and tossing it into the fire. It will feel good. I promise.

What if it’s overcast and we don’t get to see the Great Conjunction? Well, I will be disappointed, but it won’t lessen the Solstice. That’s the thing about stars. Even when you can’t see them, they’re still out there doing their thing.

Click on the YouTube link below for audio only of The Beatles song, Here Comes The Sun.

The Magic of Setting

October 26, 2020 / Gail Lowe

by Gail Lowe

I have entered that time of year in which I become a set designer.

Thanksgiving gets me going. The front step pumpkin patch grows with each trip to the store. Scarecrows wave from piles of leaves in the sleepy flower garden. Fall garland and orange twinkle lights twine the railings, offering a welcoming vibe to the changing season. Halloween follows and I ramp up my efforts. There is so much you can do with the darkness. It’s perfect for playing with the light. My candles come out in full force, bolstered by strings of purple lights now entwined with the orange. Pumpkins have been carved into wide-mouthed demons letting our little neighborhood monsters know that candy awaits if they brave the walk to the door.

Create the right setting and you can transport yourself and those travelling with you into a world that’s…well…not ordinary. Dinner is more fun with spider encased webs and crime scene tape covering the railings behind you. Blue corn nachos become bat wings with gore. Black cats perched on the shelf, witches and monsters watching you from the corners and insidiously large bugs just waiting to be discovered – why would you live any other way in the shadow of Halloween. Movies are scarier, the dark seems more dangerous, and you may come face-to-face with a vampire on the way to the bathroom.

Cross my threshold and you’ll immediately pick up a flavor of where you are and what kind of world you have entered. Which begs the question: Have I done the same with my writing?

Setting is a form of magic that translates well into story telling. I remind myself of this as I put my characters through their paces. What I see in my mind needs to be reflected on the page. How rich in detail is the setting I have created so far? Can I taste it, smell it, see it, hear it, feel it? Have I devoted as much time and effort to creating my fictional world as I have decorating my home?

I know what I want people to feel when they cross my threshold, whether in this setting or the one I create word by word.

Setting is my imagination made visible. The world inside of me being shared with all the other dreamers, and more importantly, the non-dreamers. The ones who don’t yet know how to visualize magic. When I see them stop to look, to be present in the moment, a light goes on inside of them. And for me, nothing beats that kind of satisfaction.

Writing Contest

August 4, 2020 / Gail Lowe

by Gail Lowe

I hope July treated you well. For me, it was a month of firsts. I entered my first short-story contest. Then I got my first rejection notice.

The experience was a wild combination of excitement and disappointment that taught me a few things about my writerly self.

Not all stress is bad:

I’m not competitive by nature and I avoid deadlines. I left that world behind years ago and have never looked back. But the contest provided a tight timeline which reminded me that I focus well under stress.

Set boundaries:

Having a short period of time to create my ultimate short story, I carved out the time needed and let everyone know that my writing time was non-negotiable. In short, I put myself first and no one had a problem with that.

Disappointment is a symptom:

The disappointment I felt receiving that rejection notice surprised me. This was my first contest. Did I really expect to knock it out of the park? That would have been awesome, however, no, I didn’t expect a home run.

My goal was to be a part of something exciting. So what was the real reason for feeling let down? It took me a day to figure it out. Working on something new felt great. Not making it to the next round meant I had to return to my novel project.

Variety equals creativity: I love my novel but the redrafting process has started to feel like all work and no play. Participating in the contest resulted in an unexpected boost of energy to write again. This goes against ideas like “finish what you start” and “don’t spread yourself too thin”. Narrowing my creative energy to the completion of one thing had encouraged cobwebs to grow inside my brain. Working on something new cleared them out.

No fresh stimulus In.

No new Ideas out.

– Duncan Wardle

Entering that contest gave me a new plan of attack. Never again will I underestimate the power of trying something new. Cobweb-free, I’m heading into August with plans of world domination.

Gail Lowe