Tag: inspiration
The Connection With Readers
When my debut novel was published, the component of the writing life furthest from my mind was arguably the most obvious. Readers. It wasn’t as if the novel was the first time my work that had made it into print. As a freelance journalist, I’d seen my byline for years, but the satisfaction it engendered […]
Serendipity on Steroids
I recently came to a personal writer’s realization. All of my stories—both the ones on paper and the ones impatiently waiting in the queue in my head—have to do with serendipitous meetings. Serendipity, it turns out, (some might argue it’s fate) is an obsession of mine. Turn left at the corner and meet the love […]
The Passion to Teach, the Courage to Write
Hands trembling, she skulks up the center aisle as if she is walking the proverbial plank. After she shakily giggles and glances around the room, I offer her a reassuring smile. I know, however, I’m not what she fears. Even her staring peers aren’t her biggest enemy right now. She is battling a raging beast […]
Learning From The Greats: Edith Wharton
I’m all over Edith Wharton these days. I can’t get enough of her. Back to Edith in a moment. A few years ago it was Balzac who held a headlock on my heart. I went to Paris, meandered down crooked streets and labyrinths of alleyways in order to find his house. Just as I was […]
My Writing Journey So Far
Words. I’ve always loved them. As a child writing was my first obsession. I wrote funny little stories, poems and letters. Mostly to my Nan, as she was my inspiration, my encourager. As a teenager I discovered how to lose myself in books, and reading replaced writing. Being the second of four children, with only […]
“This Is How It Goes.”
Allow me to set the scene – You recently completed writing the most difficult story of your career. You pulled it off! Your exhaustive research came through. The ending poured out of you like liquid diamonds. You redid the ending of your last novel a dozen times. This time, it felt like the story was […]
The Inner Critter: Awareness First, The Writing Will Follow
I recently had a woman come on my Haven Writing Retreat and say, “I learned more in five days of Haven than in my entire MFA program…and I’m still paying it off six years later!” I hear this sort of overture all too often, and it concerns me. I also hear, “I’m still chiseling my […]
Write for Victory!
Apologies in advance for starting this post with a negative thought, but it has to be said: there is a lot of disappointment in the business of writing. It is an inescapable part of the job which can make it difficult (to say the least) to keep moving forward, to keep trying, to keep writing. […]
What to do when the fire of your first draft has gone out
“Writing is finally about one thing: going into a room alone and doing it. Putting words on paper that have never been there in quite that way before. And although you are physically by yourself, the haunting Demon never leaves you, that Demon being the knowledge of your own terrible limitations, your hopeless inadequacy, the […]
Writing Through Difficult Times
A seed of salvation exists inside each of us. I had to find mine early. My father’s undiagnosed, untreated schizophrenia and violent outbursts were often directed towards me. He lived in a black and white world, and saw me as the enemy, so he did everything he could to destroy my self-esteem and keep me […]
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