Showing posts with label Illinois. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Illinois. Show all posts

Sunday, September 28, 2008

The Color of Leaves by Morgan Mandel


One of the draws for visiting the NorthWoods in the Fall is color. It looks like we may have hit it right on our vacation this year. It's predicted the colors should hit their peak in midweek. Already we've seen some great displays.

It may seem obvious, but it bears mentioning. In your manuscript, be sure to add seasonal colors for flavor.

Leaves have always been a great way to describe the Seasons in a book. This is what happens in Illinois, Wisconsin and other neighboring states:

In Spring, except for evergreens, most leaves are light green in color. Summer turns them into a deeper greenish hue.

In the Fall, leaves change into a splendid spectrum of colors --- cranberry, russet, tan, orange, and gold. They're not only on the trees, but also in the wind and underfoot.

Then Winter arrives. The leaves are gone. The trees are bare.

I don't know if this holds true in other areas of the country. If anyone not from around here would like to share, please leave a comment.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

RAIN By Morgan Mandel



We're nowhere near Texas, where Ike was, yet Illinois still received way too much backlash rain. I believe our neighborhood got close to 7 inches. DesPlaines, not that far away, is way flooded and the river hasn't even crested.

As much as scientists talk about controlling the weather, I don't think it can be done. Not counting lives lost, it's sad to see so many people's memories and homes that they've worked hard for all their lives just washed away.

We were lucky. We got off with large pools of water in the yard, a foot or so of water in the basement, and some window well dripping. Not everyone can say the same.

Sometimes life intrusions interfere with writing. When that happens, after everything is back to some kind of normalcy, remember what you can about the experience and write about it.

Morgan Mandel
www.morganmandel.com
http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com
http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com