We’ve entered a sudden new reality which will dictate our lives for a while. Certainly for weeks, maybe months. Maybe more. A switch flipped and we find ourselves in strange times, careful of how we move, touch, work, eat, and—well, just about everything. Many of us are self-quarantining. We think about what it all means. Many of us will express those thoughts in our fiction and poetry. A classic novel of the 19th century provides one writer’s unflinching approach to … Read More »

Writers often have a precarious relationship with their muses, fearful of anything that might stifle that creative spark. But, writing shouldn’t be left to the random visits of some whimsical muse, but rather it should be ready to take advantage of those visits. Having a list of tips and tools to support your writing life will ensure that your writing will be both productive and effective. The first tool you need is a roadmap. Writing is a lot like a … Read More »

I bet you’ve heard stories about writers who hoard their best writing advice, or how opportunities are snatched up jealously and the names of contacts never shared. This may be so in some writing circles, but it hasn’t been my experience. Most writers I know tend to give their all at presentations, in critique groups, and on blogs, etc. This has allowed me to joyfully learn at the feet of others, fill notebooks with writing advice, connect folks with each … Read More »

About 15 years ago. I visited a bookstore at the mall — a Borders or Books-A-Million —  where I found a copy of Taming the Monkey Mind,  a free Buddhist handbook on meditation. I was in my early twenties and away from college on break. Philosophy was one of my interests back then and I assumed I could benefit from the book’s teachings. An inscription on the book’s back cover requests that “if you are finished with it, please pass … Read More »

It’s a feeling I am familiar with. Anyone who’s finished writing a story might feel the same. I felt lost, like I was adrift in a boat with no oars or motor. The story had come to an end, but this time it was magnified. It was the end of a series—the cumulative drifting that began with the first book had become a category five hurricane after the fourth. I consoled myself with the first three books, knowing there would … Read More »

One hundred years ago, in January, 1920, Woodrow Wilson was President. World War I was two years in the past. The 18th Amendment, prohibiting “intoxicating liquors,” was the law of the land. The 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote, lay eight months in the future. Seems like ancient history, but there are people alive today who were alive then. The world was on the cusp of the new. The quill had given way to the typewriter, which would … Read More »