Last week I taught an all day workshop on voice and as I was talking to my friend about it he mentioned that the workshop was just what people who are taking part in NaNoWriMo needed. You see, writing, especially writing fast and furious during November for NaNoWriMo, comes much easier when you find your […]

Yesterday I was hiking a small, nearby mountain with a friend. I always feel my mood shift as soon a I reach the point where the old firs take over.  The hike is only a mile, but you can wind around to shorter paths and stretch it out if you want to linger or get […]

We’ve got rain in the forecast for tonight and I’m hoping it arrives. The break from the heat is so welcome especially since I just spent five days in Utah where the air was so parched and nasty I couldn’t wait to return to Oregon. Trouble was it was 97 when we landed.  Color me […]

On days when the international news is unbearable, our democracy is rotting, and my stomach has been unsettled, I’m thrilled when my inbox delivers a gem of a short story. Electric Literature has a recommended reading feature and today’s recommended short story Blue by Richard Bausch is one that has stayed with me for the past […]

I just wanted to drop in and remind, nag, and exhort writers to gather words wherever you find them. I woke too early so lounged in bed reading news stories on my iPad. And since I was reading online, a New York Times headline was set amid a film of giant birds gliding and cavorting […]

The first people a dictator puts in jail after a coup are the writers, the teachers, the librarians–because these people are dangerous. They have enough vocabulary to recognize  injustice and to speak out loudly against it. Let us have the courage to go on being dangerous people…. So let us look for beauty and grace,  […]

I want to thank everyone who joined us this past Saturday morning for the Grand Canyon  Sisters in Crimes panel on Self Editing. It was a lot of fun, especially hanging out with Christine Estes, Susan Budavari, Denise Forsythe,  Yvonne Corrigan-Carr and other board members.  As usual, I had much to say and I believe […]

The morning skies are quiet and there’s a rosy sunrise burning through the firs. It was cold again last night–down into the 30s and I’m wearing heavy socks and I’m nestled under a cozy throw in a muted pumpkin shade. Towering storm clouds are taking over the skies this November as a Pacific front sweeps […]

You don’t need me to tell you we’re living in strange times. Let me amend that. Since much of the history of the human race  has involved all matter of weirdness and difficulties, let’s say stranger than most times. When life hands you a raw deal or heartbreak, a scary, shitshow future, or distrust in […]

On Sunday I was awakened in the wee hours by the roar of rain thundering down.  I stepped out onto my porch with it’s metal roof and stood under the clamorous power, breathing in the clouds and wet. And then it took hours to get back to sleep, but that’s another story. Later, after tracking […]