This is part one of a three-part-series on ideas I explored in the short story collection Shelf Life, now available on Amazon free for the next couple days. In the short story “Nevermore,” a writer orders her own gravestone after an embarrassing public debacle, and...
I’ve realized that I am often seeking feedback whether I admit it or not. From the pictures I post online to the conversations I have with friends, I am often looking for approval, agreement, commiseration. I am slowly learning to accept that I am doing the best I can...
I signed up for Camp Nanowrimo to motivate me to finish the first round of revision on my first novel. (Camp Nanowrimo is a virtual place where writers get together for the month of April to finish writing projects.) I have been working on this revision for the past...
As you may have noticed, the blog has had a little makeover. I moved to a self-hosted site and made a few other changes (when I say few, please know that I mean about forty-five things and all of them are out of my knowledge bank and comfort zone. I said to Matt the...
When my students struggle to find writing topics, I often ask them to think about their scars. We start with the obvious- those raised patches of taut white skin that betray the age of the skin around them. The room that was blank stares and tapping pencils erupts in...
I shouldn’t be writing blog posts today, because I have foolishly signed up for NaNoWriMo again, and I haven’t finished today’s word count. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a crazy bunch of people all over the world who endeavor to write a novel in a...
