Charlotte Rains Dixon

Opening the Door

A few years ago, in honor of a landmark birthday (I'm sorry, I'm not prepared to divulge which one) my daughter gave me a tattoo. Well, more to the point, she gave me the promise of a tattoo. However, I never took her up on it. Not because I didn't want a tattoo, but because […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 16 years ago11/03/2015

Motivation Writing

Bringing Full Attention to Bear

Do you ever get certain phrases ringing in your head? My latest is, "bringing full attention to bear." As in full attention to my creative work, though it could be applied to just about anything. It was brought on by reading an article written by Christine Kane, in which she talked about how important it […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 16 years ago11/03/2015

Books Writing

Why Did You Decide to Become a Writer?

I'm playing around with a new character, whose life is defined by the books she reads. And this has made me ponder how intertwined my life is with the books I read. I refer to characters from books I've read in my brain all the time, sometimes learning from their actions, or using what they […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 16 years ago11/03/2015

inspiration

Losing My Mojo, or, A Ray of Light

There was an article in the Sunday Oregonian yesterday about all the crises we face in the world–the oil spill, war, the economy–and how they are getting people down. No, duh. Usually I am immune to the tyranny of news stories. Aware, but immune. Lately, though, I've let it all get me down. Yesterday, as […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 16 years ago11/03/2015

Creativity inspiration

Lessons From a Rock Concert, Part Two

Yesterday I wrote about attending the Eagles concert in Portland last Saturday night and promised real takeaways from the experience for today. So here we go: 1. Put it all out there. Writers, put it all on the page. Painters, put it all on the canvas. Musicians, all in the song. All you got, every […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 16 years ago11/03/2015

inspiration

Lessons From a Rock Concert, Part One

Saturday night I went to see the Eagles. Until then, I had forgotten how much rock concerts inspire me. Experiencing a concert is such an all-encompassing event for me, I end up feeling determined to go forth and do my creative work with renewed vigor. I mean, musicians have to be creative on so many […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 16 years ago11/03/2015

Creativity Travel

Traveling Down A Different Road

We went to the beach for a night this past weekend. But it was to a different cabin in a different town than we've ever stayed at before. We traveled down a different highway, went to different beaches, ate at different restaurants, saw different things. All of this was quite by accident, but it was […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 16 years ago11/03/2015

Creativity Writing

Cultivating the Mental Energy to Write

How does one coddle the mental energy to write? Ah, that is the question, is it not? As I wrote in my post last Thursday, energy for writing is different from energy for other activities, because writing is active and engaged. (As opposed to say, TV watching, which is passive.) And sometimes, in the crush […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 16 years ago11/06/2015

Uncategorized

Just to let you know, that although I usually blog Monday through Friday, this Monday (tomorrow) is a holiday in the states. And I'm going to the beach. So no blog post until Tuesday. But I shall return then with the second part of the series on mental energy and thoughts on rock concerts and […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 16 years ago11/03/2015

Critiques

Friday Mini-Critique: J.D. Frost

For our second critique volunteer, today we have J.D. Frost, who bravely submitted to my eagle eye, even after reading the first Friday Mini-Critique. J.D. is a loyal and long-time blog reader–thanks, J.D.! He's also a mystery author, in case you hadn't guessed from the following excerpts. Visit his website here. Excerpt #1 Opening: […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 16 years ago11/03/2015

Looking for a Great Read? Look No Further!