Category: On Writing
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 […]
Mental Health and Writing
Last night I watched, ‘Amy’, a poignant biopic of the young, troubled jazz singer who died at 27. As I watched I found myself becoming angry with her parents who saw the signs so early of her mental distress and chose to ignore it. And then I remembered that my parents had done something very […]
Behind Every Great Man: Lady Jane Wilde
When Lady Jane Wilde (1821-1896) learned that her son Oscar’s latest play had the provisional title ‘A Good Woman’, she wrote to express her disapproval: ‘I do not like it- “A Good Woman”. It is mawkish. No one cares for a good woman. “A Noble Woman” would be better,’ she insisted. Oscar renamed his play […]
Minding the Gap: American Women Writers and World War I
Travel the roads from the scenes of battle; search the trains; wounded, frozen, starved thousands are dying in agonizing torture—not hundreds, but thousands. —Nellie Bly, “Hospital in Budapest Is Arena of Horror,” Washington Herald, 20 Jan 1915 As famed reporter Nellie Bly makes clear, women witnessed and wrote about the horrors of World War I, […]
How Books Can Empower Girls
Ever since I was little I’ve been inspired by how empowering stories and books can be when they hit the right chord within you. I also knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a professional writer. I started dictating stories to my parents when I was three, tried my hand at […]
A Memoir Narrator Transformed
Speaking of her most recent memoir, Joyce Carol Oates said in an interview, “[T]he elements of fiction…evoke rather than summarize, [which is] the desired goal in…memoir.” These days, memoirs mimic novels in plotting a narrative arc, and incorporating dialog, drama, a climax, and the protagonist’s transformation. The seeming requirement that novelistic techniques figure prominently in […]
The Influence of Social Media on My Life
Proposing to someone is nerve-wracking enough without having the worry of whether the wifi is going to work while you’re doing it. “You can post it later,” I told my nervous boyfriend, as he attempted to upload his guest post to my blog. Why had my boyfriend written me a guest post? I should rewind […]
Crafting a Passion into Writing
Someone asked me recently how I am able to come up with ideas for books to be published. At the time, I answered the question flippantly, saying that I am just very creative; a storyteller at heart. Nonetheless, this question did make me reflect on where an author gets their inspiration. With billions of books […]
Libraries: Still All About the Story
I love libraries. I love the way they smell. The quiet hum of florescent lights and shuffling pages. I love walking up and down the stacks trailing my fingers over the spines looking for the perfect story for my current mood. I love that every book, dvd, and cd has an exact place where I […]
Being a Neurologist and Writer
I’ve always wanted to be a writer, so I became a neurologist. In case this isn’t intuitive, let me explain. For years, I struggled with the decision to become a doctor or a writer. (Well, when I was six, I wanted to be a professional jump roper, but soon found out this wasn’t a viable […]
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