I can’t say that I’m a big movie fan. When a conversation turns to movies, and to famous movie one-liners, I am definitely not the life of the party. Usually I’m quite in the dark. When I do watch movies, the goal is nearly always for relaxation and entertainment. My veg-time, as it were.

However, once in a while a movie comes along that fascinates me with its well-written story line. Has this ever happened to you?  It makes me almost want to start taking notes as though I were in a writer’s workshop.

That happens to me very rarely, but it did happen recently when I watched War Horse, a Steven Spielberg production. You may have seen it. It’s quite an epic production. Superb acting, amazing settings, but it was the well-constructed story line that hooked me.

For a few days after watching it, I kept running the plot line over and over in my mind. I couldn’t get loose from it. Finally, I had to sit down and watch it through all over again. This time not for entertainment, but to chart how the clues were planted all along throughout the story – and how each of the story threads were intricately woven together. That movie stirred up creativity in me, and made me want to sit down and spend more concentrated time and attention on my novel-in-progress.

(Of course now my next step will be to actually read the book upon which it was based. War Horse written by British author Michael Morpurgo. And I like what I have learned about this prolific author!)

The world of a novelist is a constant pattern of exploration and discovery! I can’t think of anything else I would rather be doing. I can’t think of another way I’d rather spend my days.

Second Title in the Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection

Tiger Beetle at Kendallwood

Available on Amazon Kindle

January 31 & February 1, 2014

On the dates listed above, Tiger Beetle at Kendallwood will be featured on the Amazon Kindle Store as free reads!