J. M. Levinton

Gone Writing

• February 05, 2018
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Walking down the twisted paths inside my head. See ya next week.

Up in the Adirondacks

• November 06, 2017
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I spent a long weekend in the Central Adirondacks with a group of friends. It was exactly what I needed, the catching up, the laughter, and especially, those mountains surrounding me.

Day two began with a power outage that lasted most of the morning, and we fortified ourselves with cold cereal and muffins. By the afternoon, everyone was out, either hiking on trails, puttering along the lakes in a motor boat, or hanging out in their own cabins. I sat at the table in my cabin and began writing. The mountain facing me radiated absolute quiet but not silence. Peace steeped my bones, and my pen worked diligently across the page.

There wasn’t time to do a lot of writing, but that moment of solitude and clarity was the spark. At least it worked better than me trying to light the fireplace. For the record, what you’re seeing in the photo below is the newspaper burning. Alas, the logs were too damp to catch on. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.)

There isn’t much more to say except yes, it was hard to leave.

But here’s someone who was glad to see me when I returned home. And thankfully, the writing spark is still going strong.

Fiction and Foreign Languages

• October 16, 2017
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You know what happens. You’re reading a story and a character who doesn’t know your language says something in it. And you cringe, because the word is correct but the nuance is wrong.

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Flowers and World Building

• August 21, 2017
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Years ago, my parents drove through a neighborhood on Long Island where lush, green lawns adorned the front of every house. Each lawn had one or two azalea bushes in bright fuchsia.

As we drove past manicured lawn after manicured lawn with that splash of fuchsia dotting a spot, I began to think of the Stepford Wives. My parents shook their heads at me and said they probably all used the same lawn service. A friend went one further and said the plants were probably best for the area given the weather conditions.

But my mind’s eye never forgot those almost-identical patches of land, one after the other. And my novel used that as a perfect spot for vampires to live, hidden inside that sameness.

I drove to Long Island a few days ago to see if that still existed.

“No,” said my friend. “Azaleas bloom in the spring.”

Oh.

So I drove around neighborhoods and discovered that the flower of choice right now seemed to be black-eyed Susans. I called my friend from the car. “Why?”

“It’s drought tolerant.”

“I don’t think we’re in a drought.”

“We’re not, but drought-tolerant plants need less water so it’s better for the water bill. They last from summer to early fall,” she added.

Ah.

I’ll be making more trips as the season turns to fall. World building can be a tricky business.

 

 

When Your Writing Goes Wrong

• July 31, 2017
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• 6 Comments

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You’re writing a story. You write a few pages, maybe a chapter or two (if it’s a novel), and then you reread it. Something is wrong. Maybe it’s the tone (too dark, too frivolous, too dry) or maybe the characters aren’t behaving the way you want them to. What do you do?

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Step Away From the Computer and No One Will Get Hurt

• July 24, 2017
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There’s an old I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ethel bet Ricky and Fred that they couldn’t manage without modern conveniences. Although the episode is really funny, I loved it for the actual doing of things, like baking bread and churning butter. I doubt I’d want to do that on a regular basis, but once in a while chores like that have a certain charm. Things take the time they take.

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In a Writing Rut? Invite a Tourist

• July 10, 2017
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I live in New York City, a city bustling with five boroughs of different temperaments all merged together to form a ball of energy.

But when someone asked me recently for the name of a good local restaurant, I paused. “I guess when I’m in my neighborhood, I just go home and cook.”

It’s when friends and family from out of town come to visit that I see my city through different eyes. I take them to my favorite spots and we explore places I’d always meant to go to but never did.

Tourist attractions with a guest are a completely different experience. I’m having too much fun looking through my guests’ eyes to pay attention to the fact that it’s, you know, a tourist attraction.

But yes, I know I live in a city where there are hundreds of thousands of places to see. What if I didn’t? I once lived in a small (well, small to me) city, population: 50,000. They had landmark signs tucked along the roads that I loved to follow. The locals no longer paid attention in the same way I no longer pay attention to the Statue of Liberty. And I loved those landmark signs and what they depicted.

So, go on! Invite someone from out of town and let them show you the sights. They’ll show you a place filled with detail and life. And in the process, your writing will light up with rich description and what ifs and—dare I say it? Magic.

 

Writers, Join Me at The Invisible Café

• July 03, 2017
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In Natalie Goldberg’s essay “Emergency Case,” from her book Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life, she arranged a time and place to meet a friend to write but didn’t want to know if her friend was going to show up. The point was, she herself would be there and writing. This essay stuck in my head for so long, I decided to do it with a twist.

Let’s meet at the Invisible Café for one hour and write. If you can’t make it, don’t tell me, I’ll be there and writing. I think Wednesdays are good but feel free to schedule another day. Time? I’m thinking 10 am this week. If you get there a little early (or late), that’s fine.

Where is it? It’s wherever you are. Can’t make that hour? Just try to make it that day, there will be writers flowing in and out at all hours. The chairs and couches are comfy (the chairs come in a wide range of styles) and the lighting is perfect. There’s only the barest hum of outside traffic and the waitstaff are patient and encouraging with their smiles as they serve you. (Don’t forget to tip nicely, they work hard.)

They’re open twenty-four hours a day. The ambiance at night is just as comfortable, but there’s also a spark of energy among the others sitting there that prevents me from falling asleep.

The important thing is that we’re meeting to write, surrounded by fellow writers.

Oh, and try the croissants.

Writing Again

• June 26, 2017
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I took a hiatus from writing fiction. When Magical Ties was published, I had reached the stage where if I had to proof it one more time—! Not because I didn’t like my story (I did), but because when reading it as a proofreader and copy editor I was too busy looking for technical errors to enjoy it. Probably too afraid to enjoy it, worried I’d miss a mistake. Doing that intensive focus for four or five times in a row was necessary but brutal to my brain.

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The Saga of the Chair, Part Two

• April 10, 2017
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Almost two years ago, I wrote about my search for a replacement desk chair. I thought the search was over but the replacement…sucks. It looked like my old chair but the seat cushion flattened and the back doesn’t let me settle into it like the old one did. I lived in that chair. So I’m off to search once again. Here’s my requirements:

1. The chair must be synthetic. I prefer fabric but fake leather would be acceptable.
2. The chair must be a mid to low back. High backs annoy me.
3. It must cost less than my rent.

How hard could that be, right? Apparently high backs are in style with leather and some price tags have made me gasp.

Any suggestions?