I don't know what it as about the autumn that always makes it seem like a new beginning. Some people use the New Year to make a fresh start, but for perpetual students, teachers, and professors like me, autumn is the time for new beginnings. I always speak of years in terms of school years, and probably always will.
You wouldn't know it was autumn here in South Texas. Like green, I miss seasons, but there is still a sense of palpable change in the air. Next week, I'll have completely new students, some of whom are attending university for the first time. That's always exciting--to be part of their freshmen experience. In addition to upper-division students, I've had the opportunity to teach freshmen almost every year I've been a college instructor, and their nervous excitement is catching. They come in, eyes wide and almost frightened, none of them knowing what to expect or how to behave. I like to think I have at least a small part in making them feel at home and challenging them to think in new and critical ways about the world around them. Besides being a writer, teaching is the best job, really. This autumn is also a change for me in terms of my own writing. My new book, Gnarled Hollow, is a ghost story, and a pretty creepy one at that. There is a lesbian romance at the heart of the novel, but the paranormal/mystery genre is new for me as an author. The novel includes elements of everything I love--higher education, lesbian relationships, art, literature--but it's a completely new direction for me in terms of structure and mood. As I was writing it, I felt like I'd finally found my grove. It wrote quickly, faster than anything I've ever done, almost effortlessly. I think I've finally recognized that, while I love traditional romance novels, it was, perhaps, mystery and thrillers that I was meant to write. I felt good, excited, as I was writing it, and I've never been more proud of something I've written. So this autumn really is a new direction, both for me as a writer and my for students. I can't wait to see what happens next.
5 Comments
11/8/2018 10:05:50 am
Gnarled Hollow is brilliant! I heard a rumour there might be a sequel. Is there any truth to this rumour?
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Charlotte Greene
11/9/2018 09:06:22 am
Thanks so much, Carolyn! I really, really appreciate it when a reader takes the time to give me feedback, and I LOVE it when someone tells me they liked something. I'm really happy to get your comment.
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2/26/2020 06:41:48 am
I need a direction in life. I have no idea what I am doing and it scares me. I see lots of people who are doing things to make their life better, and I need to do that as well. I think that if I start doing better things for myself, then that is when I can become a better person. I hope that life becomes better not only for me, but for everybody who needs a direction in their life.
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Charlotte Greene
2/26/2020 03:58:24 pm
Solidarity, my friends. I've certainly felt like this a lot over the years. A couple of years ago, my former university lost funding for my position, and I felt for a while like I had no direction or purpose.
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11/17/2022 01:27:28 am
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