Points of view in creative writing

There is a general modern trend to believe that writers cannot change the point of view in one single story when it is written from one character's perspective. I have read this in online forums and critiques of other peoples' stories. There may be editors out there who express this idea but this should be considered a personal opinion, and an opinion is not a rule.
 I am reading The House of Mirth and found that the author of this book tells the story in second person from the main character's perspective (Lily Bart). However, whenever Lily has a conversation with another character the writer ventures to get inside the other characters' minds. We learn something about the feelings and emotions of the characters interacting with Lily by getting inside their minds even though the story is told from Lily's perspective; in other words, the writer becomes omniscient at times.
   Have you ever tried this? Do you feel uncomfortable when a writer does it?

New tenants over our door

We have new tenants: a family of robins built a nest over our door. I took a picture of their beautiful nest without disturbing them.

 Robins are very cute. The American robin's chest is orange. Its eggs are light blue. Robins hop along the ground after rainstorms, or in freshly overturned soil, looking for worms and insects. As harbingers of spring Robins presage new beginnings.

An uplifting post

A few days ago I enjoyed  the Anthony Petullo's collection at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The artists whose work is shown here are an inspiration to all of us. Their life experience sets the example of what passion and persistence can achieve when they go hand in hand.

-Many of these artists were self-taught.

-Many of them endured economic hardships and/or had mental disorders.

-Many of them started working on their art in their forties and even later.

 I would like to mention some of of my favorite artists from this collection:

Frederick James Lloyd: he grew up on a farm in Cheshire in England and had different jobs before he devoted himself to his art. He worked as a farm laborer, stoker, lamplighter, bus conductor and police officer. At the age of 42 he remarried and fathered nine children. You would not think that was the best time to work on his art, right? Wrong! He worked on something else to support his family during the day, but in the evenings he painted at his kitchen table with his kids running and playing around him. One of the paintings I am showing here (the one with the face) is Lloyd's work. 

Sylvia Levine is another self-taught artist who began painting at the age of 45. The landscape here is one of her many paintings.

Madge Gill is a woman who worked with ink and pencil. Here is a link to some of her interesting work:

http://madgegill.com/Pencil-and-Ink-Drawings

 I cannot finish this post without telling you about Leo Navratil, a psychiatrist and author from Austria who encouraged his patients to draw and paint. While supporting his patients' creativity, he discovered that some of them were very talented. He sent some of the artwork to Jean Dubuffet and they created a group called The Gugging artists. Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) was an artist attracted to the art of children and the mentally ill. He did a lot to promote their work. He attacked "conformism" and mainstream culture which he described as "asphyxiating". Feel free to visit these links about Jean Dubuffet:

https://www.artsy.net/artist/jean-dubuffet

http://www.theartstory.org/artist-dubuffet-jean.htm

If you are close to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, you may appreciate a visit to the Milwaukee Museum of Art to enjoy Anthony Petullo's collection.

Writing dialogue

  Dialogue should have one of these two functions:
1) Reveal character.
2) Move the story forward.
This is what Catherine Ann Jones states in her book "The Way of Story".
 When I edit my stories I keep those functions in my mind. I ask myself, " Do these words have a purpose?" I get rid of unnecessary chatter. I also read the dialogues aloud to know if they sound natural and realistic.

Dialogues can help us  show the reader something about the character. They can also contribute to shed light on the theme in subtle ways. Words sometimes lead to something that is not expressed but can be felt or intuited.
Catherine Ann Jones mentions that we can use dialogue to offer some back story about the characters. She sets Shakespeare as an example of this. Interestingly, I'd read some advice against using dialogue to reveal back story. I don't take this piece of advice seriously. The best lessons in writing are always learned by reading other writers' work.
  What are the challenges you face when you write or edit dialogues in your stories?

Water, a source of inspiration

Whenever I get stuck with an idea, or just for the fun of it, I like to be close to water. It works marvels when I need to roll my thoughts into stories. Sitting by a lake, contemplating the ocean, listening  to a stream or river flowing, walking by a pond, are all gifts to my creativity.

There is a pond close to my house and I like to peer out the window to rest my eyes on it and let my mind wander.

Here you are some interesting facts about water:

-Our bodies are made up of 60-70 %  water

- Coffee, tea and soft drinks contain caffeine - not just water. The diuretic effects of caffeine make your body lose water.

-Our brains need water. Why? Studies have shown that if you are only one percent dehydrated, you will likely have a 5 percent decrease in cognitive function. If your brain drops 2 percent in body water you may suffer from fuzzy short-term memory, experience problems with focusing, and have trouble with math calculations.

- Don't take water for granted. One billion people worldwide have no access to safe drinking water. 

-Half of the world's hospital beds are filled with people who suffer water related illnesses.

I was visiting the aquarium in Milwaukee a couple of weeks ago when I thought about writing this blog entry. At that instant, a man approached me to ask for feedback on a website about the conservation of water. 

Here is the link to his website:

www.h2oscore.com

Now go and enjoy a nice sip of cool water.

If you enjoyed this post feel free to read my post on Light Pollution. 

Thanking my enemies

 I don't like to have enemies. Who does? Yet I have to admit that they've had an impact on my writing life.
  Don't we need conflicts in our stories? Thinking about enemies from my past and what they have done to me has helped me to create realistic stories that captivated readers and made them empathize with the narrator.
  We need tension, don't we? Enemies have inspired me to write stories where tension builds up easily. They have led me to craft thought-provoking stories where I exposed the dark side of human nature.
 "There's good and bad in everyone" says Paul McCartny's song, so I was able to find something good about some of those enemies unless the character was a psychopath. Enemies have ignited rage, fustration, shame, strength and even wisdom and patience. I put everything to good use and explored those emotions to the best of my ability.
   Creative writing has allowed me to see my past under a different light. Don't be surprised if some of the toxic people out there help you create your next popular story.
  To a writer, each experience is a gem, a potential treasure of creative endeavors. I prefer to have friends, of course, but life is not always beautiful.
  Did negative experiences with people fuel your creativity?

The "Smart Cookie" award

 I want to thank Cindy from  http://dreamersperch.blogspot.com/ who gave me the "Smart Cookie" award a couple of weeks ago.
 Now I have to do a number of things as the recipient of this award:
1) Thank the award giver and add a link to their blog. (See above).
2) Share some interesting facts on anything.
3) Pass the award to other "Smart Cookies".
I am going to give this award to the following bloggers:

Elizabeth Varadan aka :  http://elizabethvaradansfourthwish.blogspot.com/

Liz Davis http://novel-moments.blogspot.com/

Karen G http://karenjonesgowen.blogspot.com

Rick Watson  http://dorahighschoolalumni.blogspot.com/

J.L Campbell http://thecharacterdepot.blogspot.com/

Rachna Chhabria:  http://rachnachhabria.blogspot.com

Rebecca Kiel: http://rebeccakielpages.blogspot.com/

Now I will share some interesting facts. I have an interest in the mind and the human brain so I will say something about them.
1) Meditation has been shown to have beneficial effects on our brains. A study showed that after meditating for eight weeks the brains of those who meditated showed measurable changes in gray matter density in areas related to memory, empathy and learning. (MRIs were done to show the findings).
2) According to the same study, meditation also reduced gray matter density in the amygdala, an area of the brain connected to stress and anxiety
3) Exercise protects the brain as it ages. It has been shown to improve concentration and learning.
4) Studies suggest that  exercise helps to preserve mental functions and it may help to prevent Alzheimer's dementia.