Fortune's Fool

I've journeyed back around to my love of Shakespeare recently.  Every night when I put Jude to sleep I'll watch something on Netflix.  Currently I'm watching Shakespeare in Love.  I think it is an incredible story and the boy inside of me would love for it to be true; that Romeo and Juliet actually came about that way.  The adult on the surface realizes that it is simply one writer's creation, but that just goes to show you how important story is.  That story in particular always renews my love affair with the written word, whether a drama by Shakespeare, an epic from Homer, a great mystery from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or a well written article in the New York Times.  I've reached a season, finally, where I can focus on reading all sorts of things.  One of the first things I love to do in the morning is to check USA Today, and the BBC on my iPad to see what I may have missed in my narrow world from the previous day.  I love reading Shakespeare because he is the classic wordsmith.  I love reading Homer because of his story telling ability, to make the absurd come to life.  I love reading Doyle because one of the great contrasts in characters is how he writes Watson in light of Holmes.  I'm a sucker for classic literature because of the lack of the 24 hour gossip cycle that authors had to compete with.  The reader was at the mercy of the author's ability to weave the narrative and force the reader to create a visual in their mind.  I want to write like that.  Too often I start out and inferences are made in character development and the story falls flat because I am a casualty of the tech age and lack focus to draw all of my thoughts and ideas to the surface.  I've set some pretty lofty goals before, but this year I am focusing on creating a short story, and hopefully a character that has staying power.  The more I read the more my soul awakens, so along with writing everyday, I also want to read something meaningful everyday.  I'm going to go do that now, it's time to read!