On this day two years ago, I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. When you first get the call that you have cancer, you aren’t given a lot of information: the biopsy that you’ve received indicates malignant cells in your body, but you don’t yet know how far it has spread. Staging is determinedContinue reading “Two Year Cancerversary”
Category Archives: Writing
What Inspires You?
What inspires you past writer’s block? Where do you feel most inspired?
Consistently Writing
Today, I decided to talk a bit about how to be consistent with your writing goals and schedule. These are some ideas I’ve mentioned to my students and also ones I occasionally need to remind myself about, especially when my daily schedule changes.
Poem: “When the sun stood still”
Kitchen windows slashed with early sunset My course of existence forever bent On a day knowing nine hours of light Came the call that left me sunspot-blind Cancer is a metaphor in many songs Scale notes and melodies painting with my blood The needle dips and drags late December’s paint Sunless days marked in tunnelsContinue reading “Poem: “When the sun stood still””
Descriptive Writing with Imagery
This video is a bit different– it’s an example of one of the activities I use with my creative writing students to help them build their descriptive writing skills. I’ve learned similar techniques in writing courses and put my own sort of spin on it over the years. The technique involves dividing a paper intoContinue reading “Descriptive Writing with Imagery”
Writing Goals from Your Unique Perspective
Can we strengthen our writing through specific goals and unique character perspectives? I hope so! I believe many of us writers are so passionate about our work because we hope to change the world in some way or inspire others through our thoughts and ideas. This video looks at my not-so-writerly life after my MAContinue reading “Writing Goals from Your Unique Perspective”
Just Keep Writing!
Today’s message is to keep writing. Through the downfalls and pitfalls, through life’s tragedies (major or minor), and through the constant flow of rejection, we can still persevere as writers. This video offers a bit of a respite with a positive query rejection and tips to keep motivated through it all.
The Ways We Impact Others
I’ve been thinking about the ways that our smaller choices impact others, from the words we tell a loved one in haste to the items we share or the gifts that we don’t. In my video, I talk more specifically about the ways that the seasons impact and leave their impressions on us, the waysContinue reading “The Ways We Impact Others”
Another Lesson in Patience
Patience is important, even in writing.
A Writer’s Spark
What sorts of experiences help to strengthen a writer’s words and creativity?
Words and Coffee Writing 