Inspiration Monday #3: Fire

Hi there!

Welcome back to Inspiration Monday, where I share inspiration on a certain theme. Sorry I didn't post one last week–I was traveling. But I have returned (hopefully that was self-evident).

This week I thought a fitting theme would be . . . fire? Well, campfires . . . summertime . . . um, burnt marshmallows . . . and fireworks! (Well, if you live in the United States. Independence Day.) Besides, fire is really neat (I just can't bring myself to say "cool").

I once heard fire described as "powerful, hot, destructive, ephemeral." I love that description!

So how could you use fire in a story? Here are a few thoughts . . .

• Small campfire–great setting for intimate conversations between two or three characters, or for the reflections of one character.
• Bonfire–celebration, party, mob, or controlled destruction (here I'm thinking of something like Girolamo Savonarola's bonfire of the vanities. Savonarola was a Dominican friar in Renaissance Italy who, amongst many other activities, convinced the people of Florence to burn all their "vanities", including books, art, mirrors, and musical instruments. Savonarola was an interesting dude. You can check him out in this Wikipedia article.
• Smoke signal. (Like in Pirates of the Caribbean, because I have to mention something with pirates in it.)
• Wildfire.
• Housefire (staged or accidental). Accidental house fires made me think of The First Four Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
• Characters who loves fire.
• Characters who is terrified of fire.

I couldn't think of a bunch of books with fire in them, but here's the one obvious book: Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury.

Review time!

Well, not really, but I have some strong thoughts on this book.

1. I got tired of the writing style really fast (but the first line is just about the best first line in all of literature: "It was a pleasure to burn"). 
2. The story felt choppy and disjointed to me. Maybe it was supposed to be that way to mimic the confusion and uneasiness that Montag is feeling throughout the book, but I didn't like it. So there.
3. What about Clarisse??!!
4. Sad.
5. Now I need to go have a happy conversation with somebody.
6. Please comment!! 

Have you read Fahrenheit 451? What did you think?

Thanks for stopping by to read this very rambly post,
KB