“Choose a Job You Love, and You Will Never Have To Work a Day in Your Life…” This quote gets bandied around a lot. It’s been attributed to

My husband is dead…my husband is dead…my husband is dead. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Rowena reread the breaking news banner scrolling across her phone. Her brain refused to accept such a reality in the predawn light. In another time and place, she’d have wept with sorrow but today it was joy, and a little fear, that sent tears streaking down her cheeks. Rubbing her swollen belly, Rowena forced her phone to play music, despite her desire to listen to news. As the music f

It took me years to take the phrase, "it's just..." out of my vocabulary. I recently wrote it in my upcoming short story, The

A few years ago, my husband bought me a desk. Its a small faux wood job that he picked up from Walmart. Fancy it is not but it was a statement from him that he believed in me. Over the last year, I have worked anywhere but at this small desk. I don't have a reason; I simply worked at the kitchen table or in the living room. I convinced myself that I could be productive anywhere, and I was productive in 2017, but I felt something was missing. So I have reclaimed my small writi

Today I reached forty-thousand words and also wrote my favorite scene so far this nano. As I stated in a previous post, I actually plotted this nano. The difference between previous November's graph and this year is pretty stark. One of the things I love about writing a lot of words quickly, is that I write some random scenes that usually end up being my favorite. No matter how much I plot, my characters have a tendency to take the reins and do things not called for in the ou

Nanowrimo, also known as National Novel Month starts in less that two days! I have participated in this event since 2014. The basic idea is for authors to drive themselves nuts during the run up to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Although this is what Nano often feels like to me, the actual idea is to write fifty-thousand words in the month of November. It is possible, if you write 1,667 words every day. That number always looks manageable on the 31st of October but life has a wa

The editor accepted my proposal and wanted the full manuscript. I became the crazy person in the airport. I am certain, the gentleman sittin

The truth is procrastination won. For several days I promised myself that tomorrow it would get done. These are not long posts - they don&#3

Lesson 1: Rejection is Never Fun, and it comes in more than the standard form letter. A few weeks ago I entered a competition and today foun

There are a plethora of books written on the subject of writing. I have read at least a dozen and countless blog posts. From a few I took some good ideas. From a few I thought, how can I possibly do that? Am I a writer if my process doesn't look anything like what others articulate? The problem with books, blog posts and, even courses, about "the writing process" is that the author discussing or teaching the process, is teaching their process. They are likely pitching a pub

2017 was going to be the year I took my writing to the next level! For years no one, other than my husband, knew that I wrote. I quietly did

Let's talk about writer's block. If you have spent any time on your craft, you have likely experienced this dreaded bed fellow.

Writer's Goals for the New Year!