Remembering the "Good Old Days"! (NOT!)

Yesterday, I looked over a middle grade novel I wrote not long ago, one I am still trying to sell to a publisher. It takes place during the Kennedy era. It made me think about how much things have changed since my childhood.

I admit, my family was definitely behind the times, but still... Back then, we had a ringer washing machine and no clothes drier. After running each piece of clothes through the ringer to squeeze the water out, we'd hang them on the clothes line to dry, propped up with a birch tree sapling. Dress pants had to have metal pants-stretchers pushed into them so they would dry with a nice crease down the center! Who remembers pants stretchers?

We had a black and white television. We'd run next door to Grandma's to watch color television! There were no dishwashers or microwave ovens. (How did I survive without microwave popcorn and fast baked potatoes?!) Dogs and cats lived outside only, and were only on the property if they had a job and provided something to the family. No pets! Cats caught mice and dogs hunted the food that went on our table. Yes, I have eaten racoon pot-pie, fried squirrel and baked rabbit.

My dad was very much an old school farmer who grew up during the depression and had those frugal habits. We were only allowed to take a bath and wash our hair once a week. (Eeewww!!) Even then, he came into measure the tub water, not over 2 inches in the tub. Of course, we didn't have a shower. Sometimes we had to share baths. I always hated being the second one in the tub, sliding into my twin brother's dirty bath water.

The house was dark all the time, to save electric. Bedtime was 8 p.m. sharp and you better not get caught reading a book under the covers with a flashlight. Sometimes I'd slip out of bed in the summer, kneel by my dormer windows and watch the lightning bugs coming out, and the neighborhood kids still playing kick-the-can. Occasionally, I even fell asleep there, listening to the tree frogs peep. It was the one place we could catch a cool breeze on a hot summer night in an attic room with no fans and no air conditioning.

My dad wasn't keen on book learnin'. He often said, "Get your nose out of that book and get some chores done," and "You'll never learn anything from a book!" Today, I laugh when I think of how I make my living! He also often said, "You kids'll never amount to nothin'." I'd like to think that we did, and I know, at least for me, the books I was addicted to made a big difference. They still do!

Happy Spring!

Happy Spring to EVERYONE!

The weather here in Maryland is sunny-luscious today! I finished writing a picture book manuscript, worked on my young adult novel, and now I am going to go outside and set up my dog agilty equipment and play with my Sheltie dog, Ryley.

I hope you are all enjoying good weather!

Your friend,
:>)
Lois Szymanski

Catch the wind?

Catching the wind... is it impossible? If you ask the windmill he will tell you that he does it all the time. Sometimes what seems impossible is not. It's all in how you look at it.

As a writer, I try to catch the wind on a daily basis. Story ideas spin like seeds floating from pods, catching an updraft and drifting along to find a new life in a new place or time. How do writers find good ideas? I am asked this all the time. I am here to tell you they are as tiny as seeds, drifting in and out of our lives on a daily basis. The hard part is teaching your radar to locate them. Then you can lasso them in and turn them into your own creative work!

Years ago, I started an IDEAS FOLDER. If I had a great idea I jotted it down and put it in the folder. If I saw an article in the newspaper that would make a great story I'd tear it out and put it in the folder. Inspirational letters from friends, pictures in magazines that inspired me.... they all went in the folder. I learned to quickly record the dreams that spang from my inner conscience at night. They went into the folder, too. That folder is now an entire file drawer of catagorized ideas and you can bet I turn to it often.

Find your own ideas and let the writer inside of you grow strong. Sometimes it takes work. I wrote lots of awful stuff before my work grew strong enough to share with others. Writing is like anything else in life. The first time you rode a bike you probably fell off, but you stuck to it and learned to pedal fast. The wind blowing in your face as you raced down a hill was the reward. The first time a body-builder works out with weights he is weak. Over time his muscles grow strong. Writing exercises, rewrites and editing will help your writer's muscle grow strong. Never give up!

In this blog, I will share fun stories, inspirational moments from my life, and occasional writing advice, and share new book releases. I hope you will stay tuned. Writing and reading will change your life!