“Oh, what a tangled web we weave / When first we practise to deceive!”
—Sir Walter Scott, Marmion, 1808
The intricacies of deception begin as secrets, often innocently held captive for self-protection, but eventually they entangle all those who don’t know their origin.
It’s a subject I’m exploring in my work in progress, A Habit of Hiding, a realistic fiction novel where the main characters are hiding something or hiding from someone, even from themselves, in an intricate dance that has unintended consequences—as secret-keeping often does.
Hiding: An intricate dance with unintended consequences wrought by secret-keeping.
In the process, the characters entangle and endanger one another, with results that range from tragedy that cannot be undone to challenges that must be surmounted. And in the process, everyone, including the author, grows and changes.
Even the wolf spider weaves its web with secretive intent, yet deviates from human nature with its single-minded purpose: entanglement. What else can you conclude from its intricate, nearly invisible, pattern? ♣
Want to learn more about my upcoming novel?
Get a sneak peek at A Habit of Hiding here
For more on the art of writing, look HERE.
Take at look at more of photographs featuring natural details at my Naturescapes Shop. To see more photographs where light and shadow etch a pattern, visit my Lightscapes Shop.
Is there something you’re hiding without deliberate intent?
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Jann Alexander :: Pairings 
To me, the pattern and intricacy say “Creator.” Super photo, Jann. I went with a web, too, but one with no brightly colored spider in it. All the best with your novel.
janet
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Thanks, Janet, heading over to yours to visit now!
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I’ll really look forward to your novel.
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Thank you very much. I can’t imagine being finished writing it . . . as I love the process so much. Luckily, I have another one in mind . . . HaHa like all creatives, always looking on to the next great thing!
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yeeeh looks like a false widow?
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A balcony railing on a deck . . . a favorite haunt of Texas wolf spiders, I’ve noticed!
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I first heard that “Oh what a tangled web…” poem on Andy Griffith and as a kid and have never forgotten it! Your book sounds enticing! Great pic. Glad it’s only pic though.
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That Andy sure was a literate man in hiding, wasn’t he? When I was sourcing it for my article, I was surprised to learn it was Walter Scott’s–always thought it was Shakespeare’s. Thanks for your encouragment, Anita.
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My clue to the things I hide from myself? Getting angry at someone else. Often the things that make me maddest are my own faults, projected. That is an impressive spider.
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What a great insight. So true. Glad you reminded me to think it through like you do, and I appreciate your response. BTW it’s a wolf spider, and he’s every bit as huge as he seems. You may have heard that everything is bigger in Texas.
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elegant – what a great photo…great timing!
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Thank you!
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The intricacies of entanglement and deception – I love the phrasing, so mysterious and full of secrets. For some reason, I just thought of Bernard Shaw, who chose to cover the subject humorously in his play “Charley’s Aunt”. The photo of the spider is haunting and beautiful at the same time.
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Kate, such kind words, thank you. Do you ever write about secrets in your work? I find them so fascinating, especially the reasons people have for keeping them.
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I met a wolf spider once, when we were living in the rectory in Sewanee. The master bedroom had a ‘fireplace,’ which was really a coal grate. There was a lump of coal in the grate that started to move. Gave up its secret hiding place… and made me scream.
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I bet it would! I’ve been lucky enough to encounter them in broad Texas daylight. They’re always so busy spinning their traps they don’t notice a photographer lurking close-up.
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