I never know what I’m going to find when I pop over to Wendie Old’s blog, Wendie’s Wanderings, but what I didn’t expect to find one day last week was an obit for one of my favorite authors — Anne McCaffrey.
I latched onto McCaffrey as a teen, reading first the Harper Hall books and then moving on to the Dragonriders of Pern books. My mother knew that if I was holding a Pern book, speaking to me was pointless. But I don’t think it bothered her. Otherwise, why would she have continued to give the books as gifts to both my husband and I?
McCaffrey’s books captivated me. As a writer, I envy her world building skills. As a reader, a writer, and a parent, I deeply appreciate her characterization. In a sense, characterization was part of her world building. Her worlds were realistically and marvelously diverse. So were her characters.
And she didn’t make a big deal out of this diversity. It wasn’t something she pointed out or lauded herself for. No. The characters were simply there — doing their jobs, fighting to gain their deepest desires. Living and loving. No explanations needed.
As a teen, I read her books without realizing everything that was in them. It wasn’t until another writer, Wendie Old, pointed some of it out to me that I went back and read McCaffrey’s work as a writer.
Wow.
Why not pick up a childhood favorite and see what stands out now that you have learned a bit about how to pull together a top notch story?
–SueBE
One Writer's Journey 
Hi Sue! Thanks for stopping by my blog, and yes, I totally missed the flurries. It’s a good thing, because I would have been none too happy about them!
That’s a great idea about going back to read childhood favorites from a writer’s point of view. I should probably re-read some Judy Blume and Zilpha Keatly Snyder – I remember loving their books when I was younger.
Give it a try and let me know how it turns out!
–SueBE