Since attending a writing conference in early April, I’ve been on a new track with my writing goals. I feel more focused. I have 4 finished books at the moment, and now I have a clear plan of where each is going, or at least, what I want to do with each: the cozy mystery,Continue reading “Paving the Way to Publishing”
Category Archives: Writing
Workshop Adventures
A few weeks ago, I got to attend the Minnesota Writing Workshop, a writing conference in the Twin Cities. I left feeling energized even if it started out with a bit of a hiccup. I signed up to pitch several agents at this conference, something I’d only done once before, at a conference 10 yearsContinue reading “Workshop Adventures”
Writerly Advice for a Confident New Year
I mentioned in the fall that I’d hit a sort of writing block. It wasn’t necessarily that I didn’t have the motivation to write or the ideas to write about; it was that I lacked the time to put my thoughts to paper (or screen, I suppose). My nontraditional NaNoWriMo helped to break that blockContinue reading “Writerly Advice for a Confident New Year”
December Reading List
Most of my library reads these days are my endless pursuit of comp titles for my speculative fiction novel. Feel free to share your own struggle for comps, your own success with comps, or your own questions about what the heck comps are, and I’ll commiserate/cheer/answer anything in the comments. 😅 I first read UselessContinue reading “December Reading List”
The Character of a Year
embrace small momentsweave them into memoriesa shawl of comfortbest worn in times of trialthe armor of endurance How do you characterize an entire year? One year holds so many ups and downs, tribulations and triumphs. I think we all did this with 2020, though; nobody says, “Oh, yeah, good ol’ 2020: best year ever!” IContinue reading “The Character of a Year”
Nontraditional NaNoWriMo Advice
At the end of October, I attended an asynchronous virtual writing conference from The Manuscript Academy. I knew that I’d been neglecting my writing and that I needed something akin to a giant writerly magnet to pull me back into that regular writing habit. It’s so tough, though! I was talking to a mom friendContinue reading “Nontraditional NaNoWriMo Advice”
Healing Wounds
sneaker squeaks linoleum floors distant beeps machine hums fear curtailed under bright lights wrapped in curtained walls bandages slowly counting steps counting days nature’s rest scar tissue’s perseverance heaven’s endurance existence fickle yet bolder striding near holding dear what wounds look like as they heal faith, friendship, love, hope This week’s Wea’ve Written Weekly promptContinue reading “Healing Wounds”
Pruning
bountiful greens– pine, fern layered on emerald and mossy olive, pickled forest mint jungle weeds tangle in trellises My garden is looking pretty good this summer, in spite of the weeds. The above picture I took last week, and the zucchini plant pictured is now twice as large (it seems like that would be anContinue reading “Pruning”
Confident in Weakness
spite the blossoms that test the stems, tugging heavenward, daring nature’s roots. spite the bud the dissolves into airy fuzz and leaves the nest too soon. spite the leaves that crumble and wake underfoot, taking broken to the wind, to scatter their worldly dreams beyond their homes. I think one of my biggest weaknesses isContinue reading “Confident in Weakness”
Memoir as Healing
One concept that I’ve been considering more lately is the healing power of writing– specifically the healing power of memoir– although all expressive types of writing apply. I held a workshop recently where I shared a bit about my own cancer story and how it led me to focus on the importance of healing throughContinue reading “Memoir as Healing”
Words and Coffee Writing 