Charlotte Rains Dixon

No Longer Allowed

Attention, please. The following are no longer allowed during a writing session: 1. Whining 2. Worrying about the quality of your work 3. Obsessing over the odds for getting your work published 4. Wondering what others will think of your writing 5. Deciding that writing is a colossal waste of your time, because, really, what […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 15 years ago11/03/2015

Writing

When I Am Writing…

"When I am writing my problems become invisible and I am the person I always was. All is well. I am as I should be." Roger Ebert I copied this quote from a profile of Roger Ebert that appears in Esquire. Nearly four years ago, Ebert had most of his lower jaw removed due to […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 15 years ago11/03/2015

Creativity Writing

They Call it Fear

First there was the story I read online about how the Northwest, including Portland, could expect a major earthquake of the sort that just decimated Chile sometime in the next 50 years. I hate earthquakes. I expect the earth beneath my feet to stay steady, thank you very much. Then I watched a little bit […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 15 years ago11/03/2015

Creativity Writing

The Romantic Ideal of Writing

The traditional writing life: you write a novel, submit it to an agent, it gets sold to a good publishing house and they do a lot of work to market you. Ads in print publications, a book tour, readings and signings galore. If you are a literary type, you might take a job teaching writing […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 15 years ago11/03/2015

Creativity

Embracing Spring

My apologies to those of you currently buried under snow, or digging out from your latest blizzard, but here in Portland, we've had one of the warmest winters on record. The rhodies, daffodils and crocus have been blooming for a couple weeks now and the temps are regularly reaching 60 degrees. We've even had us […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 15 years ago11/03/2015

Books Intution

Book Review: Second Sight

Second Sight by Judith Orloff Three Rivers Press, 1996, 2010 I was offered the chance to review Second Sight and leapt at the chance because of the subject matter- intuition. I'm always curious about intuition and looking for new ways to access it. Reading this book got me jazzed about working with dreams and re-charged […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 15 years ago11/03/2015

Writing Writing Exercises

Warming Up, or The Art of Recycling Manuscripts

In writing, nothing is ever wasted. I'm forever saying this to clients, and, well, just about everybody I meet, and it is true. Your words are never wasted because if they need to be cut from one project, they might become useful in another. Doesn't matter if you have a bad experience, because, at least […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 15 years ago11/03/2015

Books

Transparency, or a Book Review

Book Review: Write Right Online by Andy Hayes Transparency is a big buzz word around the internet these days.Everyone is supposed to be transparent and tell their audience every single little thing about them. I like this trend. At least I like it in others. But when it is time for me to be transparent, […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 15 years ago11/03/2015

Creativity Writing

On Being a Beginner Again

Last night I painted. A couple weeks ago I wrote a post about not making having time to paint. And finally, last night, I got to it. This morning, I realized one of the reasons, besides the pure fun of it, that painting is so good for me. It is because I am approaching it […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 15 years ago11/03/2015

Creativity Story Writing

It is Always the Story

Yesterday, I wrote about watching the Winter Olympics and how Bode Miller winning gold inspired thoughts about stepping up to the plate. Today the subject is story. My daughter and I were watching the men's ski cross races on Sunday night. This is a relatively new sport, and, correct me if I'm wrong, but I […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 15 years ago11/03/2015

Looking for a Great Book to Read? Look No Further!