Sprains and Inspiration

I am the world’s biggest klutz! My husband and I are down at the Oregon coast for a relaxing three day weekend, a much needed respite. Along with the requisite rain gear, I packed the laptop and Civil War notes for writing, and books for recreational reading, anticipating uber relaxation. We had been in the room for no more than 5 minutes, when I took a step backwards, stepping on a shoe I had just removed, and my knee went in a direction I wasn’t planning on. Ended up on the floor in some considerable pain. Long and short of it is I’m spending the weekend doing the old R.I.C.E. cure for sprains: rest, ice, compression, and elevation, which, it turns out, are quite conducive for writing. Yesterday was the best writing day I’ve had in several weeks! Knee raised, iced, compressed, while sitting in front of a fire, with a spectacular view of the ocean. Could have done without the sprain, but all in all not a lot to complain about.

I’m excited because I wrote a pivotal scene yesterday and I’m very pleased with how it came out. As soon as I’m finished here I’m back to 1862, where Elizabeth is about to use her fingers to dig into a wounded soldier’s shoulder in order to remove the bullet lodged there. She’s quite conflicted about this, as he is the enemy!

A couple of weeks ago I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to hear David Guterson read from his latest novel Ed King. The man is brilliant (best known for his magnificent Snow Falling on Cedars), and he spent nearly 45 minutes, beyond the reading, discussing his inspiration for the book, the writing process, and general thoughts about today’s society. I have the book with me this weekend, and I highly recommend it. As he will tell you, each of his books is very unique—he has no one style, so if you have only read Snow, you will be surprised by how different this book is. When I take breaks from the miseries of the Civil War I’m spending time with Ed King.

Looks like a storm is moving in; should be perfect for writing about Elizabeth’s adventures with that bullet. Just need to get the ice pack!

Happy Reading!

Monica