Writing
A Review! A Book! And A Gratuitous Slobbering Beast Photo!
Happy almost Halloween! I have all kinds of treats here, and very few tricks, I promise. First, I’m over today at Writer Unboxed, interviewing the talented Bryn Greenwood about her novel All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. Bryn is the kind of writer who takes my mind, turns it inside out, stretches it, gives it…
Read MoreTiptoeing In…
With a gratuitous Slobbering Beast shot (doesn’t he look embarrassed?) and a redirect to the Writer Unboxed site for my essay on how to find a great beta reader. Please stop by if you get the chance!
Read MoreAll Story, No Plot (Or, Hit Me With Your Best Shot.)
I love the holidays. I love the tree, I love baking cookies and gingerbread with my kids, I love the presents, I love the peace, and I especially love the TWO WHOLE WEEKS off from school. If we could only have snow and have it be 80 degrees at the same time, I’d be in…
Read MoreCan Creativity Be Organized?
It may come as a surprise, but I’m not the most organized person in the world. (My husband and mother don’t need to chime in on this.) My organizational strategies are few, but hard-won: The keys go on the hook right when I walk in the door, or I lose them. The phone goes on…
Read MoreIt's Not Them. It's You.
When I used to show my dog in the obedience ring, I had a joke with a friend. If a dog sat when he was supposed to down, wandered off when heeling, or jumped out of the ring to snag a jelly donut (before jumping back in!) it was ‘handler’s error.’ Translation: my fault. My…
Read MoreRiding (And Revising) With Ghosts
I’ve been riding horses, off and on, since I got my first paycheck out of college. One of the reasons I can still get on and (kind of) giddyup after years away from the barn is because I had great instructors. No matter how high my rent was, or what odd expenses came my way, I…
Read MorePeas and Publishing
Last week I was sitting on Rory, listening to my instructor correct some point or other in my riding, and another person in the class commented on what a lovely head set Rory had as he stood there. His head and spine were perfectly rounded, he was mouthing the bit, and he looked like a…
Read MorePick One Thing
Lately when riding, I am a hot mess. (That’s the technical term. The actual term used by my instructor is unprintable here.) There are so many things going on — my seat isn’t balanced, my legs slide forward, my knees are jammed up against the knee roll, my reins get floppy — hence, the hot…
Read MoreA Day Late and a Post Short
It’s Wednesday, isn’t it, which means this post is a day late. But I really wasn’t slacking off — I was working on a post for Writer Unboxed. What’s that, you say? You don’t know about this terrific resource for writers? Then hie thee over there now and check it out. (Feel free to leave…
Read MoreRedirect
Hey there! Do you read Writer Unboxed? No? You should. If only because I had a very depressing post planned for today, and then I remembered that nooooo, I couldn’t write that because I had a much more optimistic post about storytelling scheduled to be up on the Writer Unboxed web site. See? WU already…
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