Tag: inspiration
Jane Eyre’s BFF
With Valentine’s Day approaching, I have been reflecting on love. Not on romantic love, but on the love between friends. I have been thinking about friendships new and old. After grappling with some serious health issues for almost half my life, I realize the importance of those who have stood by me when the chips […]
Literary Love
In honor of Valentine’s day, we asked 5 authors about Love in Books! First literary love? Amy E. Reichert (Author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake and Luck, Love & Lemon Pie): My first book boyfriend was probably Laurie in Little Women —the quintessential boy next door. Amy Impellizzeri (President of the Women’s Fiction Writers […]
The Invisible Days
I read somewhere recently that writing a book is like telling a joke and having to wait two years to find out if it is funny. It’s a painfully accurate analogy that made me laugh and wince with recognition at the same time. Writing, you see, is a curious profession. A single day can bring […]
Card Shops and Inspiration
Like all authors of fiction, I’ve often been asked where I get my ideas and inspiration from. And, like so many others, I reply that I am never short of ideas from the worlds around and within me but there is never enough time for them all to come to fruition. The beauty of writing […]
Why You Should Keep A Journal
Once upon a time I had tiny children. And during that same time period I longed to write. Dishing up Cheerios and worrying about Word Counts aren’t a happy mix and I knew where my priorities lay; happy children would be a better contribution to the world than my words could ever be. So, I […]
Many Voices
I’ve just written and filed 10,000 words, but before I write the next 1,500, I need to shift space in my head. The last 10,000 were written for academic purposes; the next 1,500 are to be written for one of those ‘listy’ articles you often find in women’s magazines. In the course of my career […]
Writing Retreats – what can they do for us?
Writers all work in different ways. I started writing when my children were young so I was soon expert at grabbing small pieces of time whenever I could. I was forever scribbling ideas and scraps of dialogue or thoughts in a notebook – whether I was in a doctor’s surgery waiting room with the children […]
Dear Writers of All of the Stories I Read in 2015
Dear Writers of All of the Stories I Read in 2015 (An Open Letter From a Fan.) Dear You, I am a HUGE fan. Maybe your biggest fan. No really. (Ok, maybe your Mom ranks slightly higher than me. But only just slightly.) I’ve seen the way you make magic. Real magic. Not the sleight […]
Fanfaronade
You wouldn’t think one word I wrote in my debut novel, Annie’s Story, Book 1 of The Voyagers Trilogy, would cause a discussion between two mature men, would you? It was six months before my husband James actually asked to read my debut novel, Annie’s Story, published in April. I was quite surprised as I […]
Sculpting a Memoir
Memoir writers have huge egos. We actually believe that something we did is important to others. We are the like aging relatives reminiscing at Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone else at the table is anxious to talk about Billy’s wedding or Sally’s divorce, but old Aunt Mabel won’t shut up about life before the war. Her voice […]
Recent Comments