Every Story is a Mystery

Every story must be a mystery in which the writer gently guides the reader down the path of discovery. Regardless of genre, regardless of style, regardless of audience. Every story. I know this isn’t new information, but it is the thought that came to me this morning in the shower, and as I scribbled it [...]

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So I couldn’t sleep last night. I was up contemplating my efficacy as a parent, my questionable pursuit of a writing career, my own mortality. Oh, and I watched Phineas and Ferb. I love that show. And maybe it was the fact that I was bleary-eyed and it was 4 a.m., but I had this epiphany. Candace never gives [...]

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I almost never write poetry. But last week I was on vacation in North Carolina with three of my favorite people – my two daughters and my sister-in-law. We spent one night in a yurt in the mountains. Yes, a yurt. (It’s fun to say yurt.) Our’s was a deluxe yurt, complete with domed skylight [...]

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Today is an exciting day! But to show you just how exciting, I need to back up about four years. Yes, FOUR YEARS ago I wrote a story and today it will finally be published. It’s called “If It Weren’t for the Cat,” and it’s a story dear to my heart. I was first seized [...]

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Something has shifted in my writing perspective, and I thought I’d share.  My story begins last year, when I penned a piece of flash about a reformed prostitute who keeps the cards of her former clients hidden in her recipe box. It was a story I loved, one of those that just bubbled up and [...]

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Just to clarify, these are the best books I read last year, not the best books to come out in 2011.  10. At Home on Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball. The second in the wonderful Ladybug Farm series. If you haven’t read them yet, I encourage you to pick them up. I bought myself the [...]

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Day by endless day, Brain to finger; straight to page. Somehow, a book made.

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As you may have guessed from the title, I’m participating in NaNoWriMo this year. It’s not my first time; I took part (and won) 4 years running, beginning with 2005. Then last year I took a break. My dad had just passed away and I wasn’t feeling particularly creative. Instead, I focused on rewriting a [...]

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Actually, that title is a little misleading. Up until yesterday, I thought my muse was a woman. Her name is Suzie, and  in a word, she’s pushy. Her voice is a running commentary in my head. “Did you finish that chapter yet? What are you waiting for? Don’t you want to be able to send that rewrite to Ms. [...]

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Today is national Poem in Your Pocket Day. It sounded like a fun thing to do, but here’s my problem. Today is my day off, and I am home writing. Which means I am in my sweatpants. Which have no pocket. So instead of carrying the poem in my pocket, I’ve opted to post a [...]

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