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Every One of My Books Has Killed Me a Little More
*** You see the title there, and maybe that’s why you clicked over to see what’s going on here. If you did, please know I didn’t say that quote. It was said by the famous late writer, Norman Mailer. “Every one of my books has killed me a little more, ” he said. I didn’t know the man. I’m not on par with him as a writer. I am not as prolific a writer as he was. And I certainly don’t earn my primary income as a writer as he did. And yet, I can totally understand what he said. As some of you who follow my blog…
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Creating the Physical Space in which to Write
I N S P I R I N G S P A C E S One of the things we talked about in my college classroom recently is not only WHEN we find time to write, but WHERE we find time to write. I’m very lucky that our home came with a beautiful office that we have tweaked a little with paint and a chandelier. (My husband said, “You took down the fan for a chandelier? We have enough chandeliers in the house.” To which I replied, “You can never have too many chandeliers.”) Finding the TIME to write has its own challenges, but part of it, for me, lies…
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FRIDAY FICTION – A Short Story from a Collection
*** They can’t all be happy endings. While my novels always tend to have a happy ending, my short stories do not. I don’t know why they go down this way. It seems to me like short stories—writing in the short form—allows you to write more pointedly, and that, in turn leads sometimes to unhappy little vignettes. This piece is loosely based on a dream I had. I will say nothing else about it, and I change things around, of course, because it’s fiction as opposed to non-fiction. This will end up being the first half or third of a short story which I hope to include in my collection…
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After I Was Dead — Friday Fiction
I’m taking another crack at Friday Fiction with a ghost story. I decided to push myself and try something entirely new. Writing ghost fiction…that sounds fun. I’ve never written a ghost story before, but I do enjoy reading them. The prompt from Brian Kiteley asks us to do the following: Write a story about a ghost who is bored by the immensities of time and timelessness. Make us sympathetic toward the ghost in a straightforward piece of narration… Here we go… Boo… A F T E R I W A S D E A D The enduring span of lifelessness is enough to drive me mad, as if I wasn’t…
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Prettiness & Priorities
I don’t know about you, but I’m welcoming 2016 with open arms. While 2015 wasn’t awful or anything I want to forget, it was incredibly busy and hectic, more so than years in the past. Juggling the children’s schedules, my husband’s new job, the writing of a textbook with my two dear colleagues, and teaching a full load of courses among other things made this year go by like a flash. If I have neglected you as a friend in 2015, please know it was unconsciously done. There are only so many hours in a day, and unfortunately, to do lists often take priority over having a good time. But…
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Let Scrooge In This Holiday Season
I’m crossing my fingers that my feature writing students will heed my advice and read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. We talked about the book’s timeless appeal: a ghost story wrapped up in the idea of redemption at the holidays. When you study writing, it’s important to study all writers. Stephen King, in his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, strongly urges writers to read other writers. It’s the only way we learn technique, garner ideas, and think about things in new and exciting ways. ‘Tis the season, I say. Plus, we could all use a little reminder of the importance of giving and caring and loving…
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The Letter in the Desk | An Excerpt | Friday Fiction
* * * Unfortunately, this week I am too busy to write a new Friday Fiction post. However, I thought I would share a post I discuss with my students in class. I wrote this short piece called “The Letter in the Desk” when I was working on my MFA. The prompt, again from Brian Kiteley, is from The 4 A.M. Breakthrough, which asks writers to “work with a character you’re very familiar with—someone from a novel you’ve abandoned, a series of stories, or at least a story you’ve worked hard on but have not finished. The character is waiting for someone she knows very well in something like…
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Friday Fodder | It’s Been a Good Week
Honorable Mention Award | Readers’ Favorite 2015 Whenever something you’ve written garners a little recognition, it’s a good thing. Getting another nod from Readers’ Favorite made my week, as Baseball Girl was a project I worked on for three years. Seeing it earn an award in the category of Sports Fiction made me happy, too. Moreover, I’m blessed to have so many friends and family supporters who not only encourage me to write, but also share the news and are genuinely pleased for me. When you sweat over a project for as long as I did (and for some people even longer), when you pour your blood, sweat, and tears…
