It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the July 7th posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, Victoria Marie Lees, and Louise – Fundy Blue! This month, I will be answering the optional July 7th IWSG question: What would make me quit writing? “Nothing could make me quit writing.” A few years ago, I would have said, “Nothing. It could never happen!” And I would have been confident that I was right. I have always been a writer. Even before I could read and write, I made Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group The awesome co-hosts for the May 5 posting of the IWSG are Erika Beebe, PJ Colando, Tonja Drecker, Sadira Stone, and Cathrina Constantine! This month, I will be talking about overcoming insecurity and frustration for the optional May 5 IWSG question: Have any of your readers ever responded to your writing in a way that you didn’t expect? If so, did it surprise you? I think when I published my first book, “Facing Cancer as a Friend: How to Support Someone who has Cancer,” my expectations Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the April 7 posting of the IWSG are PK Hrezo, Pat Garcia, SE White, Lisa Buie Collard, and Diane Burton! This month, I will be talking about my greatest weakness as I look taking risks for the optional April 7 IWSG question: Are you a risk-taker when writing? Do you try something radically different in style/POV/etc. or add controversial topics to your work? Oh, how I wish I was a risk-taking writer! I admire people who try different things (especially if they Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the March 3 posting of the IWSG are Sarah – The Faux Fountain Pen Jacqui Murray, Chemist Ken, Victoria Marie Lees, Natalie Aguirre, and JQ Rose! I’ll be talking about genre, specifically, what genre I read and what genre I write, as I answer this month’s question: Everyone has a favorite genre to write. But what about your reading preferences? Do you read widely or only within the genre(s) for which you create stories? What motivates your reading choice? To be difficult, Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the February 3 posting of the IWSG are Louise – Fundy Blue, Jennifer Lane, Mary Aalgaard, Patsy Collins at Womagwriter, and Nancy Gideon! Today I will share some writers I have become friends with over the years as I answer the February 3rd IWSG question: Blogging is often more than just sharing stories. It’s often the start of special friendships and relationships. Have you made any friends through the blogosphere? I guess I am as introverted on my blog as I am in Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the December 2 posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, Sylvia Ney, Liesbet @ Roaming About Cathrina Constantine, and Natalie Aguirre! Today I will share about what times and seasons of the year I am most productive in my writing as I answer the December 2 question: Are there months or times of the year that you are more productive with your writing than other months, and why? This question has interesting timing because lately I have been motivated to write more. Every Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the November 4 posting of the IWSG are Jemi Fraser, Kim Lajevardi, L.G Keltner, Tyrean Martinson, and Rachna Chhabria! Albert Camus once said, “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” Flannery O’Conner said, “I write to discover what I know.” Authors across time and distance have had many reasons to write. Join me this week as I answer part of the November 4th question: Why do you write what you write? I Write Like a Baseball Player Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the October 7 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, Beth Camp, Beverly Stowe McClure, and Gwen Gardner! Today we will look at what it means to be a working writer as I answer the October 7 IWSG question: When you think of the term working writer, what does that look like to you? What do you think it is supposed to look like? Do you see yourself as a working writer or aspiring or hobbyist, and if latter two, Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the September 2 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, J Lenni Dorner, Deniz Bevan, Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, and Louise – Fundy Blue! Today I will share about my favorite YA author, SE Hinton, as I answer the September 2 question: If you could choose one author, living or dead, to be your beta partner, who would it be and why? Even though I don’t write YA fiction, my choice is the author who is credited with introducing the YA genre: SE Hinton. Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the August 5 posting of the IWSG are Susan Baury Rouchard, Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jennifer Hawes, Chemist Ken, and Chrys Fey! Today I will share about a time when I played with genre while writing a non-fiction book. August 5 question – Quote: “Although I have written a short story collection, the form found me and not the other way around. Don’t write short stories, novels or poems. Just write your truth and your stories will mold into the shapes they need to Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the June 3rd posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, J.Q. Rose, and Natalie Aguirre! Today I will be looking at how I deal with my strong opinions in my writing as I answer the June 3rd IWSG question: Writers have secrets! What are one or two of yours, something readers would never know from your work? Strong Opinions I have strong opinions about everything. Part of being an insecure writer is a reluctance to share my feelings and opinions Read more…
I usually share thoughts and information that comes from my creative life, but today, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, I am going to share some thoughts from another part of my life—my job as a cashier at a grocery store. People exhibit a vast range of responses to this time of uncertainty. I’ve made a lot of observations that you may find interesting. People are scared Most of the hoarding you’ve heard about stems from this. It’s a real fear. Something is out there that they can’t control. The one thing they can control is how prepared they feel. Having supplies Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. Note: It’s NOT the 1st Wednesday, but due to technical difficulties, this post didn’t publish as scheduled. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to LAST month’s awesome co-hosts for the IWSG: Lee Lowery, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Jennifer Hawes, Cathrina Constantine, and Tyrean Martinson! THIS month’s amazing co-hosts are Jacqui Murray, Lisa Buie-Collard, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, and Shannon Lawrence! They will be answering the optional question for March: “Other than the obvious holiday traditions, have you ever included any personal or family traditions/customs in your stories?” This week I will be talking Read more…
Whether you want to be an actor, musician, dancer, or another type of performance artist, you probably already how challenging it is to break into this extremely competitive industry. Few can achieve a high-ranking status that equates to earning millions of dollars. In fact, according to some of the latest statistics available, the median hourly wage for an actor was just $22.15, in part because many of them only work part-time. Remember that talent can only take you so far if you hope to make a living in performance art. You’ll need a lot more than that – these attributes Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to this month’s awesome co-hosts for the IWSG are T. Powell Coltrin, Victoria Marie Lees, Stephen Tremp, Renee Scattergood, and J.H. Moncrieff! This week I will be recounting my writing journey as I answer the optional question for January 8, 2020: “What started you on your writing journey? Was it a particular book, movie, story, or series? Was it a teacher/coach/spouse/friend/parent? Did you just “know” suddenly you wanted to write?” My writing journey began very early on in life. Before I could even read, Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to the December 4 IWSG co-hosts: Tonja Drecker, Beverly Stowe McClure, Nicki Elson, and Tyrean Martinson! Today we will explore living the dream: the life of a writer, as I answer the IWSG question for December 4th: “Let’s play a game. Imagine. Role-play. How would you describe your future writer self, your life and what it looks and feels like if you were living the dream? Or if you are already there, what does it look and feel like? Tell the rest Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to November 6th’s IWSG co-hosts: Sadira Stone, Patricia Josephine, Lisa Buie-Collard, Erika Beebe, and C. Lee McKenzie! Today we will look at my internet search history, as I answer the optional IWSG question for the month: “What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever googled in researching a story?” I think most writers fear the FBI may get ahold of their search history. Imagine if Mary Shelley lived in the 21st century. What would her search history look like? Grave Robbing Vivisection Electrocution Daemon Living dead Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to October 2nd’s IWSG co-hosts: Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Mary Aalgaard, Madeline Mora-Summonte, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor! Today we will look at whether it’s better for writers to read or not to read, as I answer the optional IWSG question for the month: “It’s been said that the benefits of becoming a writer who does not read is that all your ideas are new and original. Everything you do is an extension of yourself, instead of a mixture of you and Read more…
In our last Nitty Gritty Grammar Lesson, we learned about similes. Today we are going to look at another type of figurative language, closely related to the simile: the metaphor. Metaphor vs. Simile A metaphor is similar to a simile in that it compares one thing to another. The two things being compared, of course, must have something in common. The big difference between a metaphor and a simile is that a metaphor doesn’t use the words “like,” “as,” or “so,” to compare the 2 things. Instead, we say that one thing is another thing with which the subject shares Read more…
Today I thought I would do something a little different and answer 25 Not-Too-Scary Life Questions from Karen Hume’s blog, Profound Journey. Profound Journey is based in Canada, so those aren’t spelling errors in the questions, but rather the Queen’s English (which I am rather partial to, myself). Even though these questions are “not-too-scary,” I’m not always comfortable plumbing the depth of who I am with the online public. I typically refrain from sharing much about myself with people unless I’ve gotten to know well. But, today I will share with you all since I know that you are nice Read more…
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