Tag: Writing (Page 1 of 2)

Portals in Your Home, and How to Use Them Properly

January 25, 2021 / Gail Lowe

Dimensional travel has fascinated me ever since I watched the movie What the Bleep Do We Know. I was hooked by all the possible science scenarios I could use in my writing, especially the idea of travelling by portal.

If you think portals are too unusual, just ask any kid about the Elf on the Shelf. For 24 days in December, elves all over the world travel nightly by portal to the North Pole.

I have portals in my house.

My Fitbit charger has returned to my bathroom drawer, and there is no other explanation. Over a month, I searched for it. Frustrated with all of my unrecorded steps, wondering if my resting heart rate was getting better or worse – it probably stayed the same…but let me not distract from the fact:

my lost charger showed up one morning, suddenly and without explanation.

That same morning, I found a candle in the middle of my Tupperware shelf. There is no way I could have dodged that candle for all this time and not have noticed it. To fully understand, you would need to see the precariously stacked Tupperware packed into every inch of space on that shelf. A candle would not go unnoticed in the very centre of said shelf.

A scientific impossibility…unless you consider portals

At least in my fiction, I have control over the portals. I provide rules so that everyone understands how to use them. And I put them in logical places which I don’t hide from my readers.

There are characters in my fiction who doubt the existence of portals. Just as there are people in my house who laugh at this idea. But, the next time you misplace your glasses, phone charger, or anything else that just vanishes only to return weeks later—in such a way that you question your sanity—consider the possibility of portals.

You might just have one in your house.

The Thing About Stars

December 16, 2020 / Gail Lowe

by 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.