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…
Today in our Nitty Gritty Grammar Lesson we will be looking at one of the fun forms of figurative language-Similes! Before we go there, I’d like to share what a Nitty Gritty Grammar Lesson is. Google’s online dictionary defines “Nitty Gritty” this way: the most important aspects or practical details of a subject or situation. “Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of similes!” A simile describes the subject by using uses the words “like” or “as” to compare 2 different things which have one thing in common. A common simile is, “It was as soft as a baby’s bottom.” Anyone who 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 IWSG co-hosts for the August 7 posting of the IWSG: Renee Scattergood, Sadira Stone, Jacqui Murray, Tamara Narayan, and LG Keltner! This month, rather than answering the optional question of the month, I will be talking about starting over as a writer. Starting Over Since Dan died on April 26th, it has been really hard for me to find the “on” button. Finding time to write in the midst of starting over has been difficult. There have been a few Read more…
Do you prioritize your passion? Or do you let other things get in the way of the creative endeavor that fuels your excitement? Today we will be looking at how to prioritize your passion and make time for your dreams. I’ll be sharing the artist/curator who inspired this post with his timely advice as well as how to Recently, I took a class from the Emerging Curator’s Institute, with my daughter, Summer. The class was called “Curating as Artistic Practice.” This was an ideal experience for my daughter who is going to school to study Art History and Museum Studies. 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 IWSG co-hosts for the July 3 posting of the IWSG: Erika Beebe, Natalie Aguirre, Jennifer Lane, MJ Fifield, Lisa Buie-Collard, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor! Today I’ll be talking about the inspiration for personal traits in the characters I write as I answer this month’s optional IWSG question: What personal traits have you written into your character(s)? For this month’s question, I will formulate my answers using the only fiction work I’ve completed, “The Nature of Murder”. I haven’t finished Read more…
Today in our Nitty Gritty Grammar Lesson we will be looking at diseases and grammar. Before we go there, I’d like to share what a Nitty Gritty Grammar Lesson is. Google’s online dictionary defines “Nitty Gritty” this way: the most important aspects or practical details of a subject or situation. “let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of finding a job” The Minneapolis Star and Tribune[1] Published this article about the top 10 reasons good grammar is important. Beyond High School It seems that by the time we are old enough to recognize the importance of good grammar and admit that our own Read more…
A year ago, I was asked to speak to our local Rotary Club. My speech topic was, What Not to Say to Someone who has Cancer. I tweaked the speech until I finally felt like it was as good as it would get. Then I practiced this speech several times a day, every day, for a couple of weeks. I am always worried that I will freeze up, so I have to have my entire speech in front of me, typed out word for word. I’m also afraid that I will drop my pages or rely too heavily on them, 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 IWSG co-hosts: Diane Burton, Kim Lajevardi, Sylvia Ney, Sarah Foster, Jennifer Hawes, and Madeline Mora-Summonte! Today I’ll be talking about genre as I answer June 5th’s optional IWSG Day Question: Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in and why? Sci-Fi Genre with Dystopian Elements There are 3 genres I enjoy writing. Even though I don’t read a lot of it, sci-fi is one of my favorites, particularly those with dystopian Read more…
Accounting is one of the most important parts of running a small business. Unfortunately, so many small business owners leave some of the most critical details of accounting for a time when they are forced to think about them. This can lead to inefficiencies in your business, the mismanagement of finances, and missed opportunities. The following are a few tips to help small businesses owners manage their accounting better. Record All of Your Expenses Times can get hectic when running a small business, and it can be easy to lose track of your expenses if you are not careful to record Read more…
Disclosure: Some of the links in my posts are affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I may earn a commission when you click on the link and make a purchase.
Check out Past Blog Posts HERE
Regarding Blog Comments
In order to control SPAM, I have turned off comments on posts more than 14 days old. Thank you for understanding.
Reviews by Heather Erickson I’m an experienced reviewer of books, products, experiences-You name it! Sometimes I am given a product or book in exchange for an honest review. I always say whether or not this is the case, in the review itself. I always give my honest opinion. Learn More
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure I am also an Amazon affiliate. As an affiliate, I might share links to products on my site. By purchasing using these links, I make a small amount of money, at no additional cost to you.
You must be logged in to post a comment.