I hope kindness, laughter, and comfort is found at your table today. And I hope the many words you’ve harvested find a home in your readers’ hearts.
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Living the Writing & Reading Life
The light is changing day by day, hour by hour. Through the rain-streaked glass, this morning’s sky features silvery tones and mystery. The National Book Awards were revealed Wednesday and it’s an exciting lineup. Jason Mott’s Hell of a Book has been on my radar for a while so this recognition has nudged me to pick […]
Read the rest of this entry »Quick Take: Writing fiction is like adoption
This morning’s sunrise was a lovely lavender-pink and the sky is the palest blue. The a.m. newscast featured images of the flooding in northern Washington and British Columbia–the aftermath of the ‘atmospheric river’ that has drenched this region. More results of climate change that so desperately needs addressing. But I’ll stop preaching because I’ve got […]
Read the rest of this entry »Thresholds and Turning Points =Escalation & No Turning Back
Outside my window the massive Douglas firs are swaying in the wind. We’ve got a ‘pineapple express’ blasting through the region. It’s a weather system, or atmospheric river, churning in from the south Pacific bringing warm temperatures and downpours to the already rain-soaked Pacific Northwest. In fact, there are now flooding and mudslides happening with […]
Read the rest of this entry »Quick Take: What’s the Worst Thing That Can Happen Next in my Novel?
Here’s an easy-to-use technique especially helpful for anyone writing a first draft. I’m looking at you NaNoWriMos. Fiction is many things, with carefully placed underpinnings that form the structure and happenings–from bumping into an old friend to dodging-bullets-exploits–written in scenes. Scenes are where change happens. Fiction is a log of sorts depicting changes occurring as […]
Read the rest of this entry »Cheryl Strayed on Grit, Healing, and the Writing Life
I’ve used the word grit more in the past few years than I have in my lifetime. And, alas, in the past few months I’ve needed so much grit and resiliency that I’ve had to dip deep into my reserves. I dare not run low. If you’re also needing more steel in your backbone, read […]
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