Charlotte Rains Dixon

And The Essentials Are…

Working on the novel, blogging and dealing with client projects. My life is stripped down to bare bones minimum at the moment. My 92-year-old mother is in the hospital, facing surgery for a hairline fracture tomorrow morning. This, of course, requires much time spent at her bedside, as she is confused and agitated,and even if […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 17 years ago11/03/2015

Writing

Looking Back, and More Important, Looking Forward

It is New Year's Eve, 2008, the cusp of a new year. I'm a wildly optimistic person and every year I proclaim that the next year is going to be the best yet. And, nearly everyone of them turns out to be best in some arena. It may be very difficult for some people to […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 17 years ago12/14/2015

Writing

Kindle-ing

It has come to my attention that this blog is now available for subscription on your Kindle. (I hope that you, unlike me, are lucky enough to have one.) Not only that, but yesterday this very blog reached best seller status, achieving a rank of #16 on the Lifestyle and Culture Kindle Blog list. As […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 17 years ago11/03/2015

Books Writing

When a Novel Grips You

I'm reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson, and, like an obsessive lover, I can hardly keep my hands off it. I steal moments during the day to read it, I read it at night and I wake up thinking about the book. This kind of getting lost in a book doesn't […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 17 years ago11/03/2015

Writing

Character or Plot Driven? and Other Between Holiday Thoughts

My screenwriting friend Marc sent me a link to an article by Lawrence Konner, writer for a gazillion projects including Planet of the Apes (!) and multiple upcoming movies that sound blockbuster-ish. There's a lot of good bits in this article, so much so that you could take any one of Konner's pronouncements and expand […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 17 years ago11/03/2015

Writing

The Party is Finally Over and Its Time to Ponder 2009

Everybody left today. Our house party began a week ago, when the snow started falling and didn't stop for days. There's still snow on the streets, but now it is accompanied by deep tire ruts filled with water, because it is raining. Hooray! We Oregonians love the rain. At least this Oregonian does. Regretfully, I […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 17 years ago12/14/2015

Writing

Merry Christmas

Or greetings of the season and whatever holiday tradition you celebrate. I'm told that, astrologically, this moment in time is about letting go of the old and outdated, whatever no longer suits us. Since none of my Christmas presents have been delivered, I'm letting go of my old expectations of the holidays and celebrating the […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 17 years ago11/03/2015

Writing

Lessons From The Snow

Its been snowing in Portland since Saturday and now we have about a foot on the ground. I know that most of you consider Oregon a northern state and you thus assume that we always get a lot of snow, but such is not the case. Its been five years since we've gotten an appreciable […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 17 years ago11/03/2015

Writing

When Should a Writer Write For Free?

We interrupt regular programming to bring you this guest post by Roy Burkhead, as Charlotte is beating her head against the wall at the snowstorm blanketing the city, repeating over and over, "Why, oh why, did I wait until the last minute to shop?" Enjoy! And cheer her up by commenting. Do you agree with […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 17 years ago

Creativity Writing

Writing and Resting: The Winter Solstice

A theme is emerging as we near the official start of winter. A friend emails that she's tired, depressed and depleted, the end result of consistent beating herself up for not writing. Never mind that a beloved friend of hers recently died, her business, like so many others, is rapidly changing, and she suddenly finds […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 17 years ago11/03/2015

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