PORCH PONDERINGS

She wore a yellow ribbon after I made an apple pie

I just got through watching 'She Wore A Yellow Ribbon' a movie by John Ford starring John Wayne. Great stuff. The usual cowboys vs Indians. The calvary riding through Utah's Monument Valley during a thunderstorm. A real thunderstorm with real actors on real horses. No computer animation. Good stuff. I love the old movies on TCM.

So on the OctoPrep forum there is a discussion about finding your brand. What a brand John Ford as director had. He was a famous director. 'Grapes of Wrath', 'Stagecoach', 'Fort Apache' were just some of the Westerns. He liked to use John Wayne in quite a few of his films. He liked the idea of long shots, outside on location.

Per Wikipedia:
Ford's films, particularly the Westerns, express a deep aesthetic sensibility for the American past and the spirit of the frontier ... his compositions have a classic strength in which masses of people and their natural surroundings are beautifully juxtaposed, often in breathtaking long shots. The movement of men and horses in his Westerns has rarely been surpassed for regal serenity and evocative power. The musical score, often variations on folk themes, plays a more important part than dialogue in many Ford films.

As I read about this director, I thought about how this also applied to us as writers. We need to find our place in the writing world. Because I think once you find your 'brand', you will write from your heart. You won't be trying to 'make it work'. Your words will reflect who you are at that moment in time. And no else can do that but you. Easier said than done.

Today was a quiet day. Not too much happened. I walked to the post office, then to the grocery store, then we did lunch. After that, hubby and his friend went off to hunt deer. I stayed home and baked an apple pie. It turned out spectacularly! And when you're following a new recipe, that is always a good sign. We have a lunch meeting tomorrow, and I am to bring dessert. So I thought I'd bring some chocolate zucchini cake and this apple pie plus some whipped topping. Perfect!