Reflections after Reading 61 Hours

I recently finished reading Lee Child's 61 Hours.  I loved this book; I was hooked from the start.  What hooked was Child's description of the cold and desolate South Dakota plains town where the story takes place. I also enjoyed the reference to De Smet, South Dakota, childhood home of my first favorite author, Laura Ingalls Wilder, in the beginning.

While I as reading the novel, I was able to think more closely about the feeling of isolation and loneliness I wanted to evoke in A Place to Call Their Own.  I mentioned earlier this week I had been stuck and part of that issue was writing about those feelings when those feelings are foreign to me.  I like to think I am a generally positive and happy person.  Reading 61 Hours helped me understand how to write in manner that brings those feelings to the reader.

I'm not generally a fan of mysteries or thrillers, but reading that genre helps me build tension in my writing. 

So two lessons I learned today...one I knew already, reading help you become a better writer.  The other one is using small bits of time.  I was honestly driving home from work this morning wondering where in the world was going to fit blogging into my schedule today and now I'm done.

Have a great day, everyone.

P.S. Today's picture is from my trip to De Smet, South Dakota last year over Memorial Day.  This is a picture taken on the original claim of land the Ingalls' settled on when they moved to De Smet.  The house is a replica of the house Pa Ingalls built for the family.  Enjoy my fellow Laura Ingalls Wilder fans!