The latest in writing inspiration from my Tumblr blog. Have at it, guys! #68 Close your eyes and imagine your childhood home. Now put your main character in action in this home. What happens? Who does she see when she walks in? What does she think of the place? #69 The most important thing that's […]
So, we've got two days until the new year, and I don't know about you, but I've been busy thinking about 2014. I have so many writing goals I want to accomplish–novels and stories to get out in the world, and classes and products to offer here on the blog. So this year I'm trying […]
I flew home from Paris last Sunday, and as I write this, I'm still a bit jet lagged. One of these days I'm sure I'll get back to a normal sleep schedule. I now seem to rise at 4:30 every morning–at least it gives me time to write. But I'm not complaining. Because travel–any kind […]
Did you choose three words (or one word) to live by this year? Have you checked back to see how you're doing with these words? Last December, in a post titled Three Powerful Words for An Amazing New Year, I announced my words and the thought behind them. Since we're halfway (gasp) through the year, […]
A writer is nothing without ideas. Ideas are so important to our craft that I do a whole class on them. Where do ideas come from? One place they come from is observation. Which means the ability to see is vital to the writer. Here's the deal: we get wrapped up in our stuff really […]
You've all heard the party line about getting ideas for writing (and I say it myself, often): you can't sit around and wait for inspiration to strike you, you've got to make it happen by sitting down and writing. It's good advice because it's true advice. Except for when it's not. Last week when I […]
Remember that old saying from the sixties, its the first day of the rest of your life? Oh, right, I forgot, you're not old enough. Trust me on this, it was a popular saying. And its been ringing in my head ever since I read a blog post (and I'm sorry, I can't even identify […]
Next week I'm going to a place in southeastern Oregon called Frenchglen. It is little more than a wide spot in the road, with a hotel, general store, school, and a few houses, as I understand it. I wouldn't know for sure, because I've never been there. But I'm greatly enamored of the idea of […]
I've had a friend from Nashville visiting since last Wednesday. She's never been to Oregon before, so I've been showing her around. We drove to the beach for the day, wandered around the Alphabet and the Pearl districts, drove up the Gorge, and visited a variety of my favorite places to eat. She met my […]
Yesterday, while procrastinating before getting to work making sure I stay informed on what's going on in the world, I ran across the story of a woman who recently died. Earlier this spring, she started getting odd pains in her legs, and on April 15th of this year she was diagnosed with cancer and told […]
