writer at play
Posted in challenges on Aug 28th, 2008
The first of the challenges is done! And it wasn’t nearly as squirm-inducing as I thought it would be. I wrote it to It’s My Life and Can’t Get You Out of My Head (oh, and while trading a non-sleeping infant back and forth with the husband). Gotta love that kind of scenario.
A [...]
Posted in short stories, writing process on Aug 25th, 2008
Yes, that is a very articulate title for a blog post, isn’t it?
Unfortunately, that’s how I feel right now. Remember the revise-and-resubmit request I got a while ago? I worked on the story in question all weekend, and my changes still have not accomplished what I hoped they would. I’m wondering if I should just [...]
Do you have a refuge, a safe haven? A place to retreat to when you’re stressed and tired and it’s just been one of those days? Maybe it’s a physical space–a nearby park, a mountaintop that can only be reached after a long hike, a nook in your home that’s yours and yours alone. Maybe [...]
Posted in challenges on Aug 21st, 2008
Sometime during my childhood, I acquired the label of “not-artistic”. I don’t know whether it was self-inflicted or given to me by someone else, but soon being “not-[insert adjective]” became an excuse for not stepping out of my comfort zone. I didn’t put any effort into art classes (and dropped them as soon as I [...]
One of the exciting things about being a parent is introducing books to my little ones. They go from interacting with the physical books–chewing them, pulling them off shelves, stuffing them in various holes, crevices and nooks, turning pages and pointing to pictures–to interacting with the story itself. This is the fun stage my oldest [...]
Posted in inspiration, personal on Aug 16th, 2008
Summer is coming to an end.
The nights are getting chillier, the fans are off and the kids are back in warm fleecy PJs. Tent caterpillars weave their gauzy homes in the trees and crickets chirp under rocks and in the grass. Local strawberries are long gone and the blueberry supply is rapidly dwindling. That last [...]
Posted in personal, writing process on Aug 14th, 2008
I have to face it: my time is at a premium right now.
When the kids are up and about (that’s from about 8 am till 9 pm), I’m busy nursing, diapering, schooling, playing, sporadically cleaning, fetching this and carrying that, mediating sibling squabbles, admonishing, disciplining, reading aloud and once in a while, cooking. Often I’m [...]
Posted in reading on Aug 14th, 2008
No, not the story, but this book that I’ve been reading for the past three weeks (a long time for me): Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultous Election of 1800 by John Ferling. It’s one of those books that are so densely-written that you can only take in five or so pages at a time. David [...]
Posted in short stories, writing process on Aug 12th, 2008
I have long agreed with James Macdonald’s assessment that writing a short story is like making a lime pie (at least, the way he describes the baking of said pie–I’ve never tried it myself). He writes:
In the same way, a short story either works or it doesn’t. Once prepared, using all your skill, you can’t [...]
Posted in writing process on Aug 11th, 2008
I came to my WIP tonight completely drained of creative energy, my well of ideas and image all dried up. As I opened up my story document, I wondered what in the world I was going to write besides [insert something clever here] and “blah, blah, blah”. After a few blank moments, I started typing [...]