Birds can imprint on voices before they are hatched. And studies confirm that we humans hear sounds before we are born—our mother’s heartbeats, intestinal sounds, music, and the rise and fall of spoken language. Further, researchers have found that fetuses who are spoken to in a variety of pitches have an increased interest in sounds, and the inflections in sound, after birth. Now, isn’t that what’s happening to us as poetry lovers when we hear a poem that just “feels … Read More »

I am only an occasional writer of haiku, but I adore the form. Studying it, I’ve found that there’s a lot we can learn from haiku which we can apply to all sorts of writing—in other verse forms or in prose. Now, I bet you’re thinking: brevity. Sure. That’s the most obvious aspect of haiku. And brevity is great to keep in mind when we’re writing anything. But there are other concepts from this verse form that we can use, … Read More »

I love a good simile. Who doesn’t? They shoot off fireworks in the mind—stimulating. And a good simile is a point of connection between an author and a reader. Similes and metaphors say: Look! I’ve noticed a connection between these two things. Do you? Similes add another layer of enjoyment when we read. So, what’s a simile? Both metaphors and similes make comparative connections. But let’s stick to similes for the moment. A simile is a comparison between two things … Read More »

My last post (Making It in the Middle) was on trying to figure out what it means to be successful as a writer. Now, I want to address the “is my writing any good” question. Most writers worry about that. Even very successful ones — some of whom left instructions to destroy their unpublished work after their deaths like Franz Kafka, Virgil and Harlan Ellison. Thank goodness, other minds prevailed. Good/Bad vs Acceptance/Rejection Sometimes we are so in love with … Read More »

When I began to seriously consider writing and getting books published, I asked myself a very career-minded question:  How will I know when I’ve succeeded as an author? It seemed to me there should be a definitive answer to that question. At that time, I answered it from my perspective as a librarian. I liked when I could go to the shelves and retrieve a couple of books by a favorite writer. So, I thought if I can get ten … Read More »

On a road trip to Maine there were four of us, plus two google-navigating cell phones, one road atlas and a GPS device to “bind them all.” Needless to say, whoever was driving was besieged by three or four opinions about where to turn and which was the best route. (After the GPS led us on a few merry dead-ends, we could only partially count on her expertise.) The driver was in the unenviable position of glancing at the GPS … Read More »