November....  a time to soak up the outdoor changes and a time to tuck away summer's delights.
Looking at the bare branches outside my window reminds me of the concept of structure, a fundamental element of story-making.  Today, is a story-making day.

Now that most of the leaves have fallen, I have a chance to observe with new eyes the structure and the form that supports and gives rise to to the intricacies and sheer beauty of summer.  One does not have to wonder long to figure out what connection natural structures have to their world.  Surely, nothing exists in isolation and everything is integral to the life that surrounds it.  Down underground,  roots wait for their time to feed a new chapter.

When I sit down to turn an inspiration into a coherent piece of writing, I know that I must consider structure and along with it, audience.  When these are in place,  my story can then take form, breath, and unfold.  I give a conscious effort to build a structure that will allow me to develop ideas on a firm and reassuring foothold.  That foothold includes a main trunk and connections for branches with a foundation firmly rooted not only in inspiration, but thought and often significant research.

Today, I am returning to "Grandmother's Dolls", a story waiting to see print.  My audience wants an addendum.  Writing a final note is like putting out a thrust of new growth at summer's end.  I need to anchor this on the strength of what has come before.  I need to look below, and I need to stretch.  What is it that has fueled my story,  and what is it that will give readers the chance to carry these ideas into the season's ahead?  The very air out there, the audience, is waiting to engage.  So, I am off to write...for today is a story-making day.