Welcome to
Writers4Higher
This issue, Writers4Higher features
Marcy Luikart
Hi, Marcy. Welcome to the
Writers4Higher family!
It’s always hard to know where to start with a question like Tell me about yourself. As an author I have no problem telling my characters stories but ask about me and I get a bit tongue-tied and shy. Basic facts: I grew up in the Midwest but moved to Santa Barbara when I met my current husband on a backpacking trip in Yosemite. I find my inspiration in so many places. I paint, I play the fiddle, I love to hike and camp, I do agility and obedience with my dog, I own a business, and I write.
It was an adventure with my husband that led me to write my current novel, River Braids. My husband and his brother had always talked about building a raft and rafting down the Mississippi River, Huck Finn, style. So in 2005, they flew to Hannibal Missouri and built a raft made out of an unwieldy piece of plywood mounted on oil drums. There was a bit of a railing around the outside and two oars to help steer, and they were ready. I flew out to join them and we spent two days floating down the Mississippi River. We went through a lock and dam and camped on one of the islands. When I got home I started a short story about two brothers rafting down the Mississippi River. While doing some research to refresh my visual memory of some old photos I’d seen in a very picturesque old bar, I found myself reading books about the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition and the 1904 Olympics. I read about the Ethnology Exhibits and discovered that Native Americans were not allowed to participate in the 1904 Olympics, but instead they participated in something called the Anthropology games. And that led me to the big “what if?” I found myself exploring the character of Joseph Barton who had gone to the Olympics to row and instead found that he wasn’t allowed to participate. My original story about the two brothers dovetailed with the story of 1904 and my novel River Braids was born.
For me, that is the magic of storytelling, taking my characters into imaginary places and finding the truth in them. I like to think that I paint the heart of humanity through my words.
Where do you see your writing taking you in the future?
Each story that I tell is an adventure and an exploration, I’m never completely sure where it will lead me. When I started River Braids I had no idea it would take me on an adventure into the past. My challenge to myself is to remain open to the story my character tells. Although I have to admit that I am secretly hoping to tackle a mystery, but who knows. That’s the fun!
How do you use your talents/time to help others?
I just recently found that I enjoy working with kids and helping them explore their own voice and storytelling. I did a workshop with a group during a summer program and came up with some fun exercises. The trick is to help them find the words to describe even simple scenes specifically. (Sorry about the alliteration). When I paint I am always working to paint what I see not what I think I see. Writing creates the same challenge, to allow myself to slow down enough to write the story that I see, not what I think I should see. And giving kids the chance to work with that idea is very exciting to me.
Would you like to find Marcy?
Check out the links to
this talented author:
Rhett
DeVane
Fiction
with a Southern Twist
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