Life in the fast lane--where's the on ramp?

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Thursday, July 7, 2016

The Recall

In 2004 I bought a Toyota Corolla from Enterprise Leasing with about 16,500 miles on it. There was a new car warranty from Toyota still in effect that transferred to the new owner, 24 months or 35,000 miles. So the warranty expired 12 years ago. I babied my "Toy" and got the oil changed every fall... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Creative Editing 101

I’ve been going over my 2009 NaNoWriMo novel with a copy editor’s pencil. It’s a metaphorical pencil since the deletions, additions and changes are being done on the computer screen,and not through notations and cross-outs on the printed page. If you’ve never taken an academic writing course, then... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Side note: re the story thread

Jillian and JJ - will become the parents of a lovely daughter named Louise. She will meet Pru's grandson Herb in college. They will marry and have five kids. You'd think, what with Herb's trust fund and his facility with numbers and financial planning, they'd have a lovely, tranquil life, but as the... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, July 4, 2016

Edit, part 5 - another story thread

During the war years – 1911-1918 – the Austin family lived in a two-story bungalow on the edge of Milton. Like their neighbors they had a quarter-acre lot with room for a vegetable garden out back, a chicken house and fenced hen yard so they could raise their own eggs. When she graduated in the top... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, July 2, 2016

Edit Part 4

How the bad stuff hit the fan... Fiona and George had barely enjoyed the best man’s champagne toast when the bride and groom had to rush to catch a flight to Niagara Falls. With George due to leave for basic training at the Great Lakes facility in Chicago in six days, there was time for only a... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, July 1, 2016

Edit part 3

Before they’d finished their tea, Martha Jensen had invited Pru and Fiona to a soiree at her home. Both mothers gave strict instructions to their offspring to put their best foot forward. The two were seated next to one another at the table, where they managed a brief conversation about the history... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Edit Part 2

It was nobody’s business that Fiona hadn’t died, or why she’d completely dropped out of sight. The failure of her daughter’s marriage had been a bitter disappointment for Pru. The plan had been for her lovely Fiona to marry rich, lead a brilliant social life and produce an heir to her husband’s... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Cleaning Day...

Yes, it's the dreaded event I've been trying to sort and pitch and organize before they get here. Of all the things I worried about, something even worse has cropped up its ugly head. I told them not to touch my desk, my office - which computer was invaded by Microsoft a couple weeks ago. And so she... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Page 1

By the time she reached her seventies, Prudence Stegman Schmidt, Pru to her friends, had kept one particular secret for a very long time. It wasn’t really her secret to share, since it involved her daughter Fiona, her grandson Herb and the real reason Pru had taken over his care and feeding when he... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, June 27, 2016

Editing an old story

Bored with the sorting and pitching, and distracted in the midst of it by a notebook full of background details on a story I wrote a couple years back "My Disco Ball is Broken," I pulled up a copy and began messing with the manuscript. Don't know if you remember the story - starts off with Grandma... Sign in to see full entry.

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Sometimes you have to write it down in order to learn what you really think about life, what it means, how to do what's best. Sometimes you need feedback from someone else to put things in perspective.

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