Writing
Feed and Water
I read this post a few months ago, and it has stayed with me almost every day since. It is so hard in today’s society to do something you are passionate about that doesn’t produce a dollar return, to make time for something just for the sheer joy it gives you. To give that something…
Read MoreHow I'll Be Spending My Summer Vacation
If I squint, I can just see the end of this book I’ve been working on for such a long time. It’s there, misty and unformed, but close enough to touch — hopefully sometime in the next few weeks. After I’ve written those blessed last words — The End — I’ll take a week or…
Read MoreThink Less. Write More.
After umpteen months, I can finally see the end of this novel. It’s there, just out of reach, perhaps three chapters away. I’ve been writing those final lines at baseball games, at dance rehearsals and while grocery shopping, carving them out of the air, inscribing them on my mind. But I haven’t put them on…
Read MoreKeeping Your POV True
Point of view is on my mind this month. My friend Vaughn Roycroft wrote an excellent post on head-hopping that you should read. And as I am deep in the midst of my own head-hopping with my current book, I thought I’d share my favorite tips here for any writers who might be going through…
Read MoreDigging In
For someone who hates being cold, I love winter hiking. There are no ticks or mosquitoes to contend with, no vicious horse flies, no gasping for air in the humid New England summer. Often, particularly if the weather is unpleasant, the Slobbering Beast and I can go for miles without seeing another human soul. There’s…
Read MoreInspiration
It snowed here last week — crisp and white and heavy. I’d planned for a snow day and finished my work early, but the kids wound up having school. And so I found myself with several whole hours and nothing (besides laundry! writing! dinner!) to do. I decided to play hookie and go for a…
Read MoreWhat to Eat, Watch, and Give This Year
The tree is up, the outside of the house is decorated, and the holiday cards are in process. Every year, December seems to go by faster and faster — the month hasn’t even started yet and I already can feel the days slipping away. I want to pay attention to every single second this year.…
Read MoreWho Owns Author?
Last week, I wrote about the difference between the terms writer and author. This week I want to know, when do you get to call yourself an author? I have friends who write for very well-known blogs, or have established blogs of their own, but haven’t written a complete manuscript and thus won’t use the…
Read MoreDenim versus Dress Up
Twice this week people have asked me what I do for a living. That’s a question I always find interesting, and perhaps one of these days we’ll get around to the whole Mommy Wars discussion on this blog. But today I want to talk about how I tend to answer, which I also find interesting…
Read MoreBig Fat Cheater Pants
I am behind today. There are many reasons, including the holiday weekend (in the US Monday was Columbus Day) and the fact that someone was Put Out about having to run in almost rain conditions. Can you tell? Instead of rocketing along at near-heart attack pace, we took a more leisurely approach today. Which was…
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