My novels have been languishing in my drive for years. Everything has been carefully laid out on the page. I know my characters and my setting like the back of my hand. I know their every wish, their every move, and motivation. I have outlined every plot point from beginning to end. But I still … Continue reading A Novel Idea: Daydream, Outline, and Draft
Category: Writing
The Virtual Vault: Why I don’t post my best writing.
I don't post my best writing. My favorite poems, short stories, and the pages from my unfinished novels never meet fresh eyes. I tell myself that I need to "save them", but what am I saving them for? I pretend that one day I might publish them, weeks and then years pass and they remain … Continue reading The Virtual Vault: Why I don’t post my best writing.
October Writing Check: am I failing NaNo before it’s even begun?
We had snow last week, a sure sign that November is closing in. As November approaches, so too does the yearly writing challenge known as NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. Year autumn writers from around the country attempt to writing a full 50,000 novel in just 30 days. Every year, I attempt some sort … Continue reading October Writing Check: am I failing NaNo before it’s even begun?
Prep-tober: preparing for the writing road
It's that's time of the year again. The leaves are changing color, the air is getting colder, and my social media is flooded with writers gearing up for NaNoWriMo. Every year as November rolls around, writing from around the country plan to write 50,000 words in a single month. For the more mathmatically minded, that … Continue reading Prep-tober: preparing for the writing road
Poetic Struggle
There's so many thoughts I cannot put into words. Sometimes the struggle is in finding an original way to express thoughts already spoken: the happiness of a bright sunflower in the summer, the melancholy of toy in the rain, the butterflies in the stomach and heart in your throat for nerves. We know what to … Continue reading Poetic Struggle
Practice vs. Passion in Writing: assess my growth as a writer
In many ways, writing still feels like a need that's intrinsic to my nature. But, external forces have been removed. Writing is no longer a forced activity rubrics and due dates, but a chosen form of expression.
The Stayed Hand: when you can’t put your ideas to the page.
I have drafts and plots for stories I want to write. They sit in their queue, waiting for me to pick them up, dust them off, and finish them. I have dreams for fairy tales, speculative fiction, suspense, and romance, all half-written with a clear road-map- but I can't bring myself to take the final … Continue reading The Stayed Hand: when you can’t put your ideas to the page.
Grimm Re-Writes: Rewriting Grimm’s Fairy tales because I can
I decided to re-read Grimm's fairy tales. Why? It started because I was looking up the tale of Frau Holle. As I read the tale aloud to my friend, I realized I had definitely heard that story before. Each story beat hit at something in my memory, something that had been buried for years. Unlike … Continue reading Grimm Re-Writes: Rewriting Grimm’s Fairy tales because I can
Half-Told Tales: My Incomplete Writing Projects
Like many writers, I have a backlog of writing. My files and folders are stuffed with projects I've started, but abandoned at various stages of development. Short stories and novellas in many genres: speculative horror, suspense, fantasy, and romance, children's books, and personal essays- all still waiting for their first draft mock-ups. In honor of … Continue reading Half-Told Tales: My Incomplete Writing Projects
Writing In November
October's rains have faded into a cold gray November. Every year I attempt a writing challenge, inspired by NaNoWriMo (Nation Novel Writing Month), but every year I fail. I have my reasons, excuses really. First there was school, then illness, then a demanding career. The truth is, I know I know I could do it, … Continue reading Writing In November
Bringing Mae Flowers 