Writing has been a slog for me lately. In the month of November, for Nanowrimo, I wrote over 50K words. 50,047, to be exact. And since then I’ve written under 4,000. Yeah. A slog. Here are some of my excuses for not writing: –Snow and ice storm –Christmas –My grandson’s birthday —Teaching a workshop on […]
It’s a special day here for a couple of reasons. First– SNOW! Ever since I was a little kid (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth) I’ve loved snow. People think that since Portland is relatively far north, we get a lot of it. But we don’t. We’ve not gotten a good snowstorm since 2008, and […]
Are you an adulterer when it comes to creativity? I am. Here’s a brief list of some of the creative arenas I sometimes dabble in (dabble being the key word): knitting, stitching, painting, art journaling, collage, weaving, mosaic. Okay, nix on the mosaic. Somewhere in this house I have a bunch of ceramic shards but […]
The best travel journal ever I am distracted. My thoughts, I will admit, are on Europe these days. Because, I WILL BE THERE IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS. So I am distracted. And when I am there I will be distracted. (Because, Barcelona, people. Paris. Collioure.) And yet, I am still doing my best […]
NEWS FLASH! Okay, when I started writing this I knew that good things were afoot–but now I can make the announcement: Erin Niumata of Folio Lit has agreed to represent me! She will be repping my novel, The Bonne Chance Bakery, and future works as well. I will write about the process (which has happened […]
So, this week & last, we are on the topic of self care for writers. I know, wahk (that's the sound of a buzzer). But this is an important subject for you to pay attention to, so that you don't burn out. So listen up. But first, go read Part One. Because in that ditty, […]
Let's talk about self care. Yeah, I know, you'd rather be writing than fussing about some dumb old self care crap. But here's the point: taking care of yourself will enable you to write more and better. Truly. An example, taken from my own life: Yesterday, I completed two big projects. Both are under wraps […]
My brain looks like these Christmas lights some mornings. Another title for this post might be Why You Need a Routine. Or more to the point, why I need one. Here's the setup: A morning in December. After a busy weekend of Christmas parties (we survived hub's resurrected Christmas office gala!) and work deadlines (yes, […]
The other morning, I had a lot on my mind. Tasks to finish, things to get organized before a trip, stuff to do. I rose early, as I always do (my eyes pop open at 5:30 pretty much routinely), got my coffee and went to the computer. I looked at email but didn't answer it […]
One morning last week I worked on social media: answering blog comments, and scheduling tweets. (I collect quotes and love to tweet them–if you have any to share, let me know.) But I was feeling, to put it mildly, unfocused. I couldn't concentrate on one thing for long. I'd check Twitter, then answer a blog […]
