When I think of long-ago childhood summers, I think of reading. Dappled light filtered through maples is easing through my bedroom window or a heavy storm is pounding at the panes, and I am worlds away, lost in a story. There is nothing like the simple luxury of reading a good book. With this in […]
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Silver Linings
The sky is still full of gloom here, but it’s not supposed to rain today and the birds have lots to say. It’s getting late to plant dahlia bulbs so I might nestle some into the ground today and then attend a socially distanced, backyard dinner later. Yesterday while I ate lunch (scrambled eggs with […]
Read the rest of this entry »A pause…
If you’ve been stopping by, thanks for doing so. My pause here is ending and I’m going to start posting helpful advice and inspiration for writers again. I’ve been bumbling, enjoying, deploring, gardening, cooking, chafing, and pondering my way through our current state of at-home uncertainty. Also dancing in my living room, connecting with friends […]
Read the rest of this entry »The Writer’s Way: Decisions, choices and moral dilemmas
The cornonavirus pandemic news is nonstop and unnerving as death tolls rise and the federal government’s woefully weak response is causing panic buying and mass confusion. I’m not going out much these days, but when I’ve ventured forth in the past few weeks the eerie, nervous atmosphere is unsettling. A spooky, living-in-a-sci-fi movie state of […]
Read the rest of this entry »The Writer’s Way: Perfecting Character Reactions
Overcast here this morning, the plum trees are blossoming in pale pink splendor, and the few tulips that the voles didn’t eat are ready to bloom. I’m not above staging an all-out war on rodents, but I might need to plant tulip bulbs in pots from now on. I’ve been working on manuscripts lately where […]
Read the rest of this entry »Read Poetry Every Day
Read poetry every day of your life. Poetry is good because it flexes muscles you don’t use often enough. Poetry expands the senses and keeps them in prime shape. It keeps you aware of your nose, your eye, your ear, your tongue, your hand. And, above all, poetry is compacted metaphor or simile. Such metaphors, […]
Read the rest of this entry »The Writer’s Way: Stocking your writer’s notebook
Before I went to sleep last night I paged through my latest writer’s notebook. The two tools that inspire me most are reading widely and analytically, and keeping a notebook. Writers need tools for flat and unenthused times, need word collections to spark fresh phrasing, and a place to secure inspirations and notes. My writer’s […]
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