Book Review: The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

I am not (by definition) into grammar textbooks. I am tremendously into the careful use of language, and so far The Elements of Style is the one book on the subject that I have recommended on any and all occasions without reservations!

This thin little book belongs in every writer’s arsenal. Easily accessible, pertinent and succinct, it touches on subjects that matter (elementary rules of usage, principles of composition, matters of form, and commonly misused words and expressions). In short, all those small, daily, irritating trip-ups which too often bring our writing to the dust. And it’s all done in roughly 80 small pages!

The ending chapter, An Approach to Style, is worth the price of the entire book and (in my opinion) if thoroughly studied is all you might ever need on the subject. To quote: 

“Write in a way that draws the reader’s attention to the sense and substance of the writing, rather than to the mood and temper of the author. If the writing is solid and good, the mood and temper of the writer will eventually be revealed, and not at the expense of the work. Therefore, the first piece of advice is this: to achieve style, begin by affecting none—that is, place yourself in the background. A careful and honest writer does not need to worry about style. As he becomes proficient in the use of the language, his style will emerge, because he himself will emerge, and when this happens he will find it increasingly easy to break through the barriers that separate him from other minds, other hearts—which is, of course, the purpose of writing, as well as its principal reward. Fortunately, the act of composition, or creation, disciplines the mind; writing is one way to go about thinking, and the practice and habit of writing not only drain the mind but supply it, too.”

Most excellent, is it not?

Heidi Peterson is a lover of wide-spreading land, summer dust, white pounding waterfalls, and mountain tops; also of good dark coffee and rich stories. Most of all she's a lover of the One who is the Word, the Word made flesh. You can visit her additional blog (where she shares more about books, movies, and further marvels of life) at: Along the Brandywine.

Visit and contact at: Sharing the Journey // Along the Brandywine // ladyofanorien(at)gmail(dot)com

Of Forts (and other important details)

First, if you scroll down my sidebar you'll find I’ve made a new blog button! As part of the process (and for easier reference), I’ve also given an official name to the blog here (which you can see on the adjusted header above). How do you all like it?

In addition, having just finished my current draft for Chapter 5 of On David’s Shoulders I've decided it’s the perfect time to share a few pertinent details and a splendid link. Chapter 5 moves my action from the vicinity of Boston to the the realm of western military forts (specifically in Colorado/Wyoming), so I’ve been studying and reading up on the subject quite a bit over the past few weeks. (Of course, I’ve seen movies and read lots of books, but I needed some heavy specifics.)

Demographics shifted and changed with such rapidity on the western frontier (every five years brought tremendous changes, let alone a decade!) that my search actually had some tricky moments. To begin, I found you can’t always go by name as not all forts were military. For example: not all military posts were stockaded, but a trader could establish an outpost, erect a stockade round it, and (correctly) refer to it as a fort—which name has often carried down on the maps today. I actually started by researching Fort Collins (north of Denver in CO), which was very briefly a fort/encampment. In the 1860’s (a decade too early for my WIP), it was declared unnecessary and dissolved, but the booming town had already taken its name, which is why it’s so big today.

So my search continued and at last I found exactly what I was hoping for (in the territory I really wanted!): Fort Russell just over the WY border (and later I think, by extension, Fort McKinney further up the stage line). Fort Russell was/is located strategically on the Union Pacific, a mile outside the territorial seat, Cheyenne; and I’ve since been able to hunt up all sorts of wonderful material—maps, diagrams, and historical details.

(An 1880's photo from Fort Bayard in NM.)

I first found both via this excellent compilation and since it’s so helpful I decided to share it! It’s not an exhaustive resource (as there were hundreds of forts in the old west), but with about 20 pages—touching on Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming—it makes a helpful starting place. The link is here. 

(Also, don’t forget to check out my new button!)

Let me know what you think! Do you enjoy western history?

Heidi Peterson is a lover of wide-spreading land, summer dust, white pounding waterfalls, and mountain tops; also of good dark coffee and rich stories. Most of all she's a lover of the One who is the Word, the Word made flesh. You can visit her additional blog (where she shares more about books, movies, and further marvels of life) at: Along the Brandywine.

Visit and contact at: Sharing the Journey // Along the Brandywine // ladyofanorien(at)gmail(dot)com

An Interview with Rachel Kovaciny

Today I'm happy to interview fellow writer Rachel Kovaciny! 

Rachel Kovaciny has been studying the craft of writing for twenty years, though she's been making up stories for much longer. She has published articles in magazines such as Guideposts and The Lutheran Educator and short stories in various online venues. She has also written dozens of fanfiction stories, most of which are available online. She currently writes articles for the online magazine Femnista. While Rachel has not yet sought publication for any of her novels, she is busily revising the sixth, and she believes it will be worthy of publication one day.

In her spare time, Rachel homeschools her three children, bakes, crochets, cooks, and makes enormous messes in the process. She also blogs about books at The Edge of the Precipice and about movies, writing, and life in general at Hamlette's Soliloquy. 

~ ~ ~

1. (Heidi) Some differences and similarities you see between the three major forms of storytelling—literature, music, and film? 

(Rachel) All three of them can convey the important story elements of emotion and experience, but they do so in different ways. Literature helps me get inside characters, to understand their thoughts and emotions. Film shows me how actions can convey those things and helps me recognize them in the real world. And music can make me feel emotions myself in ways that neither literature nor film quite can.

I approach literature and film in very similar ways. What interests me in both are the characters and what happens to them. I want to get to know characters and find out what their lives are like, see what they do in different situations. I seek to understand people who are different than myself, and both movies and books help me with that.

2. How have you seen those three mesh together in your own creative process?

When I write, I have a movie version of my story unspooling in my head. I hear the characters speaking, watch what they're doing, and I can look around at their surroundings to see what and who might be around them. I see scenes from specific angles, and sometimes it can be tricky to shift my camera angle, as it were, if I need to see things from a different direction. When I write a scene, I replay it over and over in my head until I'm satisfied with what I've captured in words.

Music plays a part in my creative process as well, because I almost always have music playing while I write. Often one or two albums will end up fitting the mood of a particular story or novel, and I'll listen to them over and over while writing. Other times, I'll need a specific emotion for a scene, so I'll hunt up some music that makes me feel that emotion. 

3. When and how did you first begin writing?

I can't really remember a time when I didn't make up stories, but I know I started writing them down when I was about six. Actually, I didn't write them, I typed them on my mom's old manual (not electric) typewriter. They tended to be a few paragraphs long and usually retold a favorite story with different character names. 

But when I was fourteen, I decided I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. My mom then bequeathed an electric typewriter to me, on which I pounded out a whole slew of short stories. Most of them were set in either WWII or the Old West, and those are still my favorite time periods to write about. That's what I view as the beginning of my quest to become a good writer.

4. What are you currently working on?

I'm revising a western YA novel I call Fickle Creek. It's my first attempt at a YA novel, and also my first western in almost a decade. While I was writing the first draft, I realized that I love writing westerns, and I'm planning to stick with them for the foreseeable future. I think my writing style is well suited to YA, as I tend to write in a pretty stream-lined, fast-paced fashion. 

I'm also working on an untitled western short story, and I hope to have the first draft finished in a few days.

5. Particular author/s who have influenced you?

Raymond Chandler, for his delightfully skewed and unexpected descriptions. Ernest Hemingway, for his lean prose and incisive depictions of human nature. F. Scott Fitzgerald, for reminding me of how beautiful words can be. Laurie R. King, for creating a strong, independent, intelligent female character who isn't the least bit annoying.

6. Is there a “non-writing” activity that shapes your writing? 

Other than watching movies and reading books, you mean? Well, I tend to work through story glitches while I'm in the shower or folding laundry. Those are two rote, meditative tasks that let my imagination roam while my hands are busy doing something useful. Also, I'm often granted a few minutes of peace while doing them, and that gives me the mental space I need to think through scenes that aren't working or figure out plot conundrums. Or talk to my characters in my head and let my subconscious fix those problems through them.

7. Your opinion on the advantages and disadvantages of digital books?

I think the advantage is that it's very easy to publish your own work as an ebook. For me as a writer, this is tremendously attractive -- just figure out how to do it, and then bam! Your books! For sale! But I feel like the problem with this is that it IS so easy. Anyone really can do it. There's no selection process, no editor saying, "This story is good, this story could be good if it's reworked, this story is terrible." Readers have to do that themselves, and for me as a reader, that can be daunting.

8. Do you ever do graphic design to help with your writing? 

A little bit. I often cast actors and actresses in various roles in my original stories -- in fact, many of my stories are born of me saying, "Hey, what if I put so-and-so in a story with so-and-so?" For my fanfiction, many stories are born of me wishing some actor, past or present, had guest-starred on Combat!, and I end up creating a story around a character they could play. So sometimes I will make little collages of pictures I've found with actors looking the way I envision characters for some story or other. This is a great way to procrastinate when you know you should be writing, but don't feel like it.

I also sometimes draw simple maps, either in Paint or on actual paper with an actual pen, just so I can keep locations clear in my head. This is especially helpful when writing out a gunfight or battle, so I can remember where everyone is and how their movements affect others. I do floor plans for houses too, so as I mention things in a book, I can mark that on a map and then not make silly mistakes like switching which side of the kitchen the sink is on.

9. Do you outline? If so, in a general way or very detailed?

No. Before I start writing, I figure out what the beginning and ending of my story are, and I work from one to the other. I tried outlining once. I plotted out what chapters different things happened in for a whole novella. And then I lost the desire to write it because I knew everything that would happen in the story. I need that element of discovery for a first draft, the freedom to let characters go their own way and not try to steer them all the time.

10. Do you work on multiple projects at once?

Usually I have something I'm revising, something that's between drafts, and something that's being actively written. Right now I'm in kind of an unusual phase where I've only got two of those -- I have nothing between drafts. But I do have that short story almost finished, and then while I let it sit and stew for a bit I might just start writing my next novel. It's been percolating for over a year, and I feel like I'm about ready to start it. 

11. Do you edit as you write?

Only a little. I might change a word here and there, or smooth a rough patch. But unless something in the story changes drastically as I write, I don't go back and fiddle around much with what I've already written. I save that for the rewrites. Most stories go through at least three drafts, and some take a lot more than that.

12. Certain themes you see surfacing and resurfacing in your work?

Siblings are a big thing with me. How the sibling relationship can be great, and how it can be terrible. Families in general fascinate me. And they don't have to be blood-related families or siblings. I'm also fascinated by close friendships and "found families," people who may have been strangers or only acquaintances before, but are thrown together in such a way that they form a family group. 

13. A particular aspect of writing you struggle with or a challenge you’ve overcome?

I like to joke that I write in precisely the wrongest genres possible, because I write mostly westerns and WWII stories, but I moan and groan over writing action scenes. I get frustrated by having to write out, step-by-step, what happens during any kind of fight, whether it involves fists or guns, whatever. I want to film fights, just sit back and let the camera catch the action, not describe it in detail. This is partly because of how my stories unspool in my head like movies, and to write out a big fight scene, I have to rewind that story over and over to catch the details and make it clear to readers who is doing what, etc. For some reason, that is much harder for me than writing dialog, which is kind of like taking dictation -- I just write down what the characters say while they say it. Very little rewinding necessary!

But I do love writing stories in those sorts of settings, and they do often require action scenes, so I grit my teeth and write them.

14. How do you deal with feedback—particularly negative feedback?

It depends on who's giving the feedback. At this stage in my writing life, I almost never get feedback of any sort from strangers on my fiction, which is actually kind of tough. It's easier for me to let negative comments from a stranger roll off my back because I don't know them, so I don't have an emotional investment in what they think.

Sometimes, constructive criticism doesn't bug me at all, and I can go from, "But, but, but!" to "Yeah, that makes sense, let me see how to deal with that" almost instantly. Sometimes, it makes me push my whole story away until I've had a few days to process what someone has said and come to terms with what changes it might mean I need to make. And sometimes, a writing friend will show me a problem so gaping that I don't think I can fix it, and I shelve the story. That hurts the most at the time, but in the end, I'm grateful.

15. One thing you’ve learned from other writers?

How to give helpful, constructive feedback. There's an art to giving a good mixture of encouragement and suggestions, and I have a fanfic-writing friend called Bayonet to thank for showing me how blending the good with the bad makes a critique so much more helpful. Thanks, Bayo!

16. A helpful nonfiction book or website?

I think the most helpful writing-related thing I've ever encountered is Holly Lisle's online course "How to Think Sideways." It's not cheap, but my writing process has been revolutionized by her insights into how to get your creative juices flowing and how to craft a solid story from the get-go. Even though I started that course in 2011, I haven't finished it yet, though I'm slowly working my way through it. I also bought Holly Lisle's "How to Rewrite Your Novel" course, which is what I'm using to revise the novel I've been talking about here. Lisle also offers a lot of shorter courses on things like dialog, plot outlines, characterization, and more, and sometimes she offers mini-courses and workshops for free. This is starting to sound like an infomercial, but truly, do yourself a favor and check out HollyLisle.com and see what she offers. 

I have another writing friend to thank for everything I've learned from Holly Lisle -- Deborah Koren, that was the best birthday/Christmas present ever!

I also love James N. Frey's series of how-to books. (This is NOT the guy who wrote A Million Little Pieces.) My favorite is The Key: Writing Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth, but How to Write a Damn Good Mystery and How to Write a Damn Good Novel are also super helpful. Frey takes you step-by-step from inspiration to a completed story, writing a mini book as an example to show you what he means. The Key is my favorite of his because I am attracted to mythic story structures and use them a lot myself, and that book has helped me understand how those work. 

17. What do you consider one of the single most important things to remember (i.e. an attitude or technique)?

If it's not working, try something else. Don't bang your head on a brick wall, find the door.

18. A word of encouragement for fellow writers?

Don't stop learning! Read books, study them, try to figure out how authors get things to work, and also figure out what makes things not work. And then write.

~ ~ ~

Note from Heidi: Thanks so much for sharing, Rachel!

Quote of the Month ~ March 2015

(click to enlarge)

For more great Quotes of the Month click here.

Heidi Peterson is a lover of wide-spreading land, summer dust, white pounding waterfalls, and mountain tops; also of good dark coffee and rich stories. Most of all she's a lover of the One who is the Word, the Word made flesh. You can visit her additional blog (where she shares more about books, movies, and further marvels of life) at: Along the Brandywine.

Visit and contact at: Sharing the Journey // Along the Brandywine // ladyofanorien(at)gmail(dot)com

Spenser, Lewis & A Short Exercise in Metaphor

“God…sent the human race what I call good dreams. I mean those queer stories scattered all through 
the heathen religions about a god who dies and comes to life again and, by his death, has somehow given new life to men.” C.S. Lewis

I’m going to let you all into a little secret. One of my favorite stories is Edmund Spenser’s first volume of the Faerie Queene (rendered most excellently here by Roy Maynard). It’s the story of the Reformation in England and it’s the story of St. George and the Dragon. Upstream from and influencing C.S. Lewis, it’s also similar to Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (written a century later), but different in that it’s martial and militant—the story of the Christian waging war on his own sin, waging war and falling and picking himself up again—ultimately falling and failing and needing to be delivered. It’s a riveting epic (deserving wide recognition!), but today I’m specifically bringing it up as it’s part of the immense tapestry behind us—the tapestry of types and shadows and literature and history. 

Looking at that tapestry, seeing it as God’s story and handiwork, we naturally see the fountainhead of it all, his given Word: perfect in its history and pictures and poetry. In the beginning we have the garden, and Genesis and Exodus are chock full of shadowy returnings to that garden—returnings to the garden Adam and Eve left. And popping up in key places, that garden continues appearing all the way through to Revelation. 

We also have characters. We have the first Adam. We have Boaz, the kinsman redeemer. Joshua, the conqueror. Othniel and Samson and Jephthah, saviors of their people. David—a sinning king yet a man after God’s own heart. The list could go on and on and on…all of them pointing to our great kinsman redeemer, conqueror, deliverer—perfect and sacrificial High King. 

Christ is the ultimate fulfillment, but if we know our types and shadows, we can explore different facets of the great story and catch a fresh and deeper perspective—a deeper understanding of what it all actually means. Digging into it and figuring out the connections is also an excellent training ground in metaphor. And, if we’re going to tell good stories in our own turn, such an exercise is invaluable!

Metaphor lets us approach something obliquely, adding depth and a further layer to be unpacked—adding multiple layers to unpack. Naturally, when it comes to writing, this requires subtlety, understatement, and a level of mystery. We want the reader to have the thrill of digging and discovering and putting the pieces together for themselves in our wonderful stories.

Deep metaphors are tricky—often tricky to get straight in our own minds—and so, in the end, it often comes down to capturing and describing a mystery with clarity. But when we do, a marvel happens—more mystery springs from the earth and our stories come alive.

~

Share your thoughts! How are you creating with metaphor?

Heidi Peterson is a lover of wide-spreading land, summer dust, white pounding waterfalls, and mountain tops; also of good dark coffee and rich stories. Most of all she's a lover of the One who is the Word, the Word made flesh. You can visit her additional blog (where she shares more about books, movies, and further marvels of life) at: Along the Brandywine.

Visit and contact at: Sharing the Journey // Along the Brandywine // ladyofanorien(at)gmail(dot)com

An Interview with Naomi

For today's interview, please welcome Naomi Bennet! And thanks so much for sharing with us, Naomi!

Naomi Bennet is a sixteen-year-old Christian girl with an everlasting writing passion. While not (yet!) a published authoress, she has written three children’s books and is currently on two projects (or more.) You can find her rambles and girlish opinions on stuff at her blog, Wonderland Creek.

~ ~ ~

1. (Heidi) Some differences and similarities you see between the three major forms of storytelling—literature, music, and film? 

(Naomi) This is an interesting, thought-provoking question! In my opinion, books – literature – crave the imagination best. I don’t know about you, but as I read, I imagine music soundtracks and I get completely IN it. Movies, on the other hands, have it all there, so no imagination is needed. As for music, while I do find it easy to find story inspiration when listening to it, I don’t immediately find stories in it as I do when I find music in books. (I hope I answered this alright!)

2. How have you seen those three mesh together in your own creative process?

As I said, I do find inspiration from listening to music, and definitely by watching movies, and MOST definitely from books. 

Music doesn’t exactly give me story ideas, but they kind of throw me in a scene-idea. For example, I lately listened to a song of the ‘Andrew Sisters’, giving me the idea of putting a ‘concert scene’ in the WW2 book I am (trying to) write now.

Movies. Ah yes – I love, when I write stories, thinking of it as a movie. I love to find the right ‘actress’ and ‘actors’ (Dan Stevens, often) for my characters, and thinking of the right soundtracks and scenery to match what I write. I do that a lot. Films give me a great help with my creativity.

And of course – books. That’s my main source of ideas, inspiration, you name it. I wouldn’t be writing if it weren’t for literature.

3. When and how did you first begin writing?

I’ve been scribbling whatnot since toddler-age, but I started seriously pursuing it by the age of nine, perhaps ten. But for years I only started stuff, and never ever ended stuff. It wasn’t until the age of thirteen, when I finally found I had finished something of about one-hundred pages, that I told myself I was a writer.

4. What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on two things. Well, more than that, of course, but I’m working on two things seriously. One, called ‘Pen-Enemy’, about two boys who write each other letters and become enemies instead of friends, is about half-way, and one, a WW2 story about an evacuee girl, I have only just started (and I’m reeeeally excited about it, so don’t ask me any more about it ‘cos I’m gonna scream.)

 5. Particular author/s who have influenced you?

All in chorus? Lucy Maud Montgomery and Lynn Austin. People who’ve read my Writery-posts on my blog know this. My best friend Emma also gives me tons of writing inspiration, and, for my children’s books, I often find myself getting compared with Roald Dahl, whose books I used to like a lot.

6. Is there a “non-writing” activity that shapes your writing? 

Reading, definitely.

7. Your opinion on the advantages and disadvantages of digital books?

Haha, well, I am not against digital books at all. They are handy, and cheap and space-free. I like to think of my grey kindle as ‘my library’. But I must say, I remain old-fashioned at heart. For a truly good read, nothing will ever replace my good old thick, paper-in-the-hand, cover-to-hide-in real books.

8. Do you ever do graphic design to help with your writing? 

Well yes, sometimes. I do like finding the right ‘faces’ and scenery pictures and all that, but mostly I write down stuff rather than going into serious graphic designing. I just want to get on with the writing as quickly as possible, you see! (And once I’m on Pinterest… yeah.)

9. Do you outline? If so, in a general way or very detailed?

I should, and I do, often, but perhaps not as detailed as I should. I always write down ideas, and quick plot lines and character-forms. For some books I have been very detailed indeed – writing down every single scene so that I could write them out of order. But for other books I have the vague outline written down, and kind of write around it with the details (hopefully well stored) in my head.

10. Do you work on multiple projects at once?

Yip. Oh, yup. Oh, oh, oh, yes. Yes. I do, yes. Aye, aye ma’am. Heidi, yes, I do.

Yes.

11. Do you edit as you write?

No. I tend to write my first drafts rather quickly, and do all the editing later. I have to be honest, I do not like editing. I still have two drafts not yet edited, and I just don’t feel like doing it. But I’ll have to, sooner or later. But I must say, editing is my least favourite part of writing. (Any editing tips? I need them! Please share in the comments, if you’re good at it.)

12. Certain themes you see surfacing and resurfacing in your work?

Love. I’m a romantic person, and I like putting some sweet (clean) romance in my stories. In my children’s books, however, not that much; but in the older-teenage-books, love is definitely a theme.

Change. Always, and always, I have change in my books. Many of my books start with the arrival, or departure of someone – of the protagonist dealing with the change aspects in her life.

Happiness. I like my books to encourage people to be happy. With small things, and just, with life.

13. A particular aspect of writing you struggle with or a challenge you’ve overcome?

Finishing stuff! I used to be horrible at this, but since I started blogging I got pretty encouraged by fellow writers and now I’m becoming much better at it, much to my joy and surprise! Finishing things, is SO worth it; there’s nothing better than writing THE END.

14. How do you deal with feedback—particularly negative feedback?

I have to say, that’s something I have to work on. I tend to get a little frustrated perhaps, at first – of course, that kind of cools away very soon, but it’s often there. I do love feedback, and I want feedback, including negative. It’s really important, and I really appreciate critique. I have to learn to accept it from the first second I read it, though, not only five minutes later. :-)

15. One thing you’ve learned from other writers?

Finishing stuff and just going for “it”. Honestly, thank you guys. :-)

16. A helpful nonfiction book or website?

I most get my writer-help from reading other fictional books and stuff like that – I don’t think we have a writer-book in our house! (Is that an issue?) I do enjoy writer blogs, including ‘Go Teen Writers.’

17. What do you consider one of the single most important things to remember (i.e. an attitude or technique)?

Not to give up. I often keep a word rule – currently I have to write 1000 words every day. This gives me encouragement to keep going on even if the story bores me for a while.

18. A word of encouragement for fellow writers?

Strive on and write when idea/passion/inspiration starts. DO it. If you’re stuck, force yourself to go on, because it’s SO worth it! And write things you love! :-)

~ ~ ~

Thank you for interviewing me, dear Heidi! It’s a great honour to be part of your lovely writer blog and I hope to read your books in the future. I’m sure they are really good. :-)

Book Review - Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon

“The question every young writer at some point asks is: “What should I write?” And the standard answer is, “Write what you know.” This advice always leads to terrible stories in which nothing interesting happens. We make art because we like art. We’re drawn to certain kinds of work because we’re inspired by people doing that work. All fiction, in fact, is fan fiction.”  

from Steal Like An Artist

With all the furor about plagiarism these days, a lot of subsequent questions about creativity have surfaced. Should we try not to be influenced by what we’ve read/seen/heard? Isn’t that why we seek out all these good things in the first place? So that working together, they can form our thoughts and vision of the world? And how can we escape having what we love come out in our writing—or in any other of our endeavors? Is that even possible?

Austin Kleon approaches all these questions and more with delightful vigor. To quote: “You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes…somehow get a glimpse into their minds…to internalize their way of looking at the world.” 

It’s amazing to see some of the famous people he quotes throughout (musicians, painters, filmmakers, authors, sports stars, etc.) while his down-to-earth approach for living creatively is excellent, as he points out good reasons for how and why it should organically tie together with the rest of our life.

And in reality, in the end—whether writing books or blog posts or song lyrics or screenplays—whether sketching on scrap paper or painting a masterpiece—whether changing out a load of family laundry or scrubbing floors or washing dishes for the umpteenth time—everyone is called to live as an artist: seriously, diligently, and creatively.

Heidi Peterson is a lover of wide-spreading land, summer dust, white pounding waterfalls, and mountain tops; also of good dark coffee and rich stories. Most of all she's a lover of the One who is the Word, the Word made flesh. You can visit her additional blog (where she shares more about books, movies, and further marvels of life) at: Along the Brandywine.

Visit and contact at: Sharing the Journey // Along the Brandywine // ladyofanorien(at)gmail(dot)com