Thursday, July 19, 2018
OK, so reading a long story is not for you...
I remembered after I posted these first two bits from the novel I'm revising that some of my Blogit buddies don't like to read things in a series. It should all be neatly contained in one post. In fact, that's the way I like it too. It's not always convenient to get the reading done every day - ya...
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Tuesday, July 17, 2018
WHO’S THE TEACHER?
Lately with the group at The Center I get to share some of the lessons I’ve learned. Even better, I get to learn from them. I may be the one who comes up with the weekly topics for us to write about. But truth be told, most of my ideas come from them during our discussions around the table. This is...
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Monday, July 16, 2018
GETTING READY
While the Write Your Own Story (WYOS) class is on hiatus, I’ve been skimming and at times copying clips I’ve taken from the 2014-2017 issues of Writer’s Digest. I’ve been playing with the idea of adapting these tips and tools to include in the WYOS weekly handouts. Writing your story is not easy....
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Sunday, July 15, 2018
SORTING AND PITCHING
They’re not all in a row yet, but the ducks are beginning to sort themselves out. I finished winnowing the good articles from old issues of Writer’s Digest and organizing them in a notebook; that’s 2013-2017 more or less sorted by theme. Characterization, setting a scene, story arcs, red herrings,...
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Saturday, July 14, 2018
FOUND DURING YESTERDAY'S SORT & PITCH SESSION
Sent your way today to offer a bit of relief from the hottest July in memory: FORETOLD BY FAT BLACK CATERPILLARS Snow...silent, drifting deep over frozen earth muffles sound, blurs outlines. Wind – chill and unrelenting carries cold from northern glaciers; freezes the Father of Waters, the Great...
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Friday, July 13, 2018
ONE WOMAN’S WEED
Carrie Anne noticed the next door neighbor’s son moving deliberately up and down their shared driveway with a gallon of Roundup, spraying the weeds that had sprung up through the gravel. He didn’t look up as she stood for a moment at the kitchen sink. Days later all the weeds on the old woman’s side...
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Thursday, July 12, 2018
JACK
Jack was Margie Baker’s dog, a super-sized part wolf, part Alsatian, with brindle–black fur and a way of sidling up to someone without their being aware of it. On summer evenings after supper the kids in the neighborhood often gathered at the Baker’s to play games, Kick The Can, Hide ‘n Seek, or...
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Wednesday, July 11, 2018
AND THEN,
After Charles and Ilse got back together, he apologized to me one afternoon. He said he realized it was rude that he hadn’t even told me he was no longer available and he hoped I didn’t take it too hard that our budding romance hadn’t bloomed. I thought it was polite of him to reach out, but the...
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Tuesday, July 10, 2018
ARE YOU DATEABLE?
Charles asked me that question out of the blue one afternoon while I was tucking things away and clearing my desk to go home. It was half an hour after the official quitting time, after the phone had quit ringing, the others had left for the day. I needed that quiet interlude of uninterrupted focus....
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Monday, July 9, 2018
FIGHTING MY EVIL TWIN and RESCUING THE SOCCER TEAM
It's been a lifelong battle between the good angel perched on one shoulder, and the bad angel whispering in my opposite ear. I know the sarcastic comeback is neither politically correct nor socially acceptable, but sometimes it's funny. Sometimes it's impossible to resist a put-down comment to take...
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