A new literary magazine that you should check out is debuting soon.  It is called Knockout, and I got an email from the editor, Brett Ortler, telling me about it.  The first issue, due out in in October, is devoted to poetry, and as far as I’m concerned none of us can ever do enough […]

This is the coolest thing.  Walksfarwoman, at Kissing the Dogwood has awarded me the Inspirational Blogger Award! Walksfarwoman has a gorgeous site and you should visit and read her philosophy page after you find out who I have given these awards to.  Oh, and before I forget these awards are the inspiration of Christy Z […]

Back from vacation, trying to pull myself out of the deep pit of relaxation induced by long strolls on the sand and much gazing at wave action, I found myself aimlessly surfing the net (of course, I never, EVER, aimlessly surf the internet normally, oh, no).  And what should I find but the most charming […]

Clearly I am still at the beach, as I’ve not done much in the way of posting the last few days.  It is just soooooo relaxing down here.  I haven’t sunk this deeply into relaxation in, well, several years–since the last time we spent a week here.  Believe it or not, I’ve only been checking […]

I’m heading to the beach today, with my family, my sister and her family, and my 90-year-old mother, who gets around way more than most 90-year-olds.  She was in Seattle with us last weekend and we took her to San Jose a couple months ago.  She’s pretty amazing. Anyway, we’re heading to Arch Cape, Oregon.  […]

The thought occurs to me that in my rush to get organized to go on vacation tomorrow (I’m taking my computer as I cannot live without being connected to the internet and the blogosphere) and get all my work done, I failed to mention my guest post over at The Golden Pencil. Duh. The Golden […]

No, this isn’t a post about diets (though if anyone has a good one, let me know).  It’s about giving events in your novel or story the proper weight.  Not everything that happens to your character will be weighted the same.  For instance, giving birth to a baby should have more significance than eating breakfast.  […]

Sometimes I long to read the way I used to, back in the days before I became a writer.  That was actually such a very long time ago I have trouble remembering it.  But the point is that once you start writing, all of a sudden reading is different. No longer do I just sit […]

….is that it is easier to get published than it is to stay published.  This according to Larry Brooks, writing in last Sunday’s Oregonian. "Deep in the black heart of every writing workshop instructor resides a dirty little secret: We are praying that no one asks when our next book is coming out."  So says […]