Not long ago I read that television viewing is a major hindrance to the writing process. While I agree with this, some television viewing is helpful to the rumination process. The other night I was engrossed in The Man in the Moon, a coming-of-age story that I missed seeing when it came out in 1991. I must have been otherwise occupied with my three young children.
I am rewriting the novel that I wrote during NaNoWriMo 2011 and published as an e-book. In my quest to see the fruit of my labors in black and white on the World Wide Web (tada!) I rushed the process. I tried to say too much too fast.
Taking several steps back is helping me to simplify the story I am trying to tell. I believe that the simple, classic plot of The Man in the Moon helped me to see and appreciate the beauty of simplicity. I highly recommend it.
It is the tale of sisters living in rural Louisiana during a summer in the 1950s. They both fall in love with the same boy, who solves their dilemma by dying in a tractor accident. It is both heartbreaking and comforting, and is a realistic portrayal of family life and the conflicting emotions of adolescence.
