Beauty likes neglected places."John O'Donohue Folly Beach, SC One of the things I like about where I work is that it's next to a protected natural area. We get to see a lot of wildlife that one normally only sees in large state parks or zoos or nature documentaries, which is just an amazing experience. … Continue reading An ode to untouched places
Author: Leah Kent
Writer. Researcher. Analyst. Queer.
Denver, CO
Gods or sinners
As a writer, when you're building a world and learning about your characters, you're thinking about a lot of things. Do you ever think about how your characters perceive the world? How they process information? I've been reading a book called The Error of Truth that discusses the difference between changing what one knows versus … Continue reading Gods or sinners
Writing program!
I got into a two year intensive writing program for people writing books - fiction and non-fiction, though mine is fiction. Emotions are high - I'm excited, I'm terrified, I'm confident, I'm plagued with self-doubt. The word of the week is vacillation. I knew I wanted to do this, but I didn't know how much … Continue reading Writing program!
Prime
There's a book I come back to periodically throughout my life - a strange piece of Scottish literature called The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. I encountered this book when I was quite young. I didn't completely understand it the first time I read it, but it stuck with me. The main character, Jean Brodie, … Continue reading Prime
Writer of the moonlight
Sunny mornings, thundery afternoons. That's been the weather pattern lately, meaning the days start bright, but become gray by afternoon, making it seem later than it really is. This weather has me thinking about things like light and dark. Recently someone said to me, "I can see you writing some dark stuff." They didn't mean … Continue reading Writer of the moonlight
The faeries have disappeared
You can tell the difference between a dog and a coyote. I can't explain how, exactly - but the first time you're lying in bed on a warm spring night with the windows open, and you hear them in the distance - even though you didn't grow up here, even though you've never heard the … Continue reading The faeries have disappeared
Outline this.
I had a day off, and spent it drafting an outline. I've never been one who was able to write to an outline. My stories like to go off on little weekend retreats without telling me then come back and start ordering me around with the pride and swagger of a newly hatched adolescent. Mostly … Continue reading Outline this.
Layers
Yesterday, I spent some time outside just before a storm. It felt like dusk, even though it was actually mid-afternoon. It's a eerie feeling, to know it's day but feel like it's evening. I have a lot of nightmares about the sky suddenly going dark in the middle of the day - apocalyptic sorts of … Continue reading Layers
Dripping faucets, velvet sounds
In my line of work, I think a lot about depth. The phrase 'deep dive' comes up a lot, and I always imagine myself in a submarine, exploring strange coral and old shipwrecks. But this isn't about what I do for a living. This is about what I do to live. I think music is … Continue reading Dripping faucets, velvet sounds
Word Gardens
I went to the Botanical gardens a few weeks ago. Mainly I was there to get some work done, and the gardens are a nice place to read or write. But I remembered, while I was there, an assignment that a teacher once had us to called Word Gardens. Word Gardens, the way I remember … Continue reading Word Gardens
Mental Wanderings: Art, Nature, Life 