I’ve always been a storyteller. I should say, “I’ve always told stories.” This was to the chagrin of my elementary school classmates who hid from me because they couldn’t stand to hear yet another story. You would think this would clue me into my lifelong dream of writing fiction especially when I have a blog all about finding your purpose. But so it is with things that are precious to you. You build walls around it as you get older so no one can touch it. As I began taking writing courses to fulfill my degree in English literature, I…
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I’ve devoted a decade to nonfiction writing, but my love for reading and writing began with fiction. This is the first of what I hope will be many posts on the art of fiction writing. And it’s a good one! I’m pretty proud of this girl! I met her when I started my first local writing group and she’s been supportive, and helpful in her advice, feedback and edits. While other members have gone off to complete manuscripts, she is the only one I know who has not only finished a book, but published it in a short amount of…
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Once in awhile, I’ll get an email from a writer curious about the writing life. I thought this was a particularly good one and asked if I could share it here. Here’s her question and my thoughts on how she can build her portfolio while she’s starting out and what’s really blocking her from writing success. Q: I’m a novice writer and I found your website while I was looking for examples of good online portfolios. I have the opportunity to have a web designer make a site for me by bartering my husbands services but I have no clue…
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I doubt any writer is immune to the vulnerability that comes with handing over your work to someone else. It’s a brutal business this writing thing. But it’s part of what you sign up for when you decide to be a writer. Recently, my rejections have dug deep into my heartstrings only because I’m getting closer to work that means a lot to me. I’m no stranger to getting rejected for jobs, articles and essays. In fact, my email inbox is flooded with them. But when you work on something that not only takes up a lot of time (time you…
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I’m going to confess something I’ve never told another soul, except my husband. My entrance into being a columnist for The Writer magazine happened in a weird, kind of embarrassing and surprising way. My gateway wasn’t my writing. It was through cartooning. I’m not a cartoonist, as you can see in the cartoon I submitted below. Here are a few reasons why I think I wasn’t jilted for my lack of obvious talent. The editor at the time was kind and open to receiving cartoon submission from a non-illustrator. I was persistent. In fact, I didn’t stop at that first embarrassing…
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It’s been awhile since I posted here. But I reappeared to share something NEW. I got a chance to be on the other part of the interview seat. Here’s a sneak preview.
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I found about a couple of hundred dollars on my laptop. What I discovered while scrolling through my past documents were raw and unpublished essays, poems, and articles. Some were there because I submitted them once and after a single rejection, completely abandoned it. Others were unfinished. I realized after further inspection that what I had was a treasure trove of potential. Some pieces only required a little TLC in order to become publishable. How about you? Have you taken a look at your old documents lately? Could they been dusted off, reworked, re-envisioned and resubmitted? After spending time looking for different markets,…
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I haven’t been blogging here lately because I’ve been in a whirlwind of writing. I realized while lying in bed that there is madness to my process. I can drum up ideas quite quickly and when I do, there are a few steps that fuel my inspiration through the hard, stuck, I-can’t-write-another-thing parts. I steal moments to write. Before I had kids, I had all kinds of time to write. But I spent it mostly pretending to write while I lavishly devoured the hours because there were so many of them. These days, I’m usually giving a kid a bath,…
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The deeper you get into your work, the harder it is to separate your self from what you’re working on. You’ll notice that the more passionate, the more involved you are, the more the deep dark stuff of your unconscious seeps out. It’s easier to live life on the surface. That way when rejection happens, it doesn’t hurt as much. You failed, but you didn’t care anyway. But what happens when what you’re failing at means the world to you? It hits at your core, purpose, and sense of self-worth. If you’re writing about a company, it stings a little…
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I can’t claim the title, “author,” yet, but there are books out there that feature my writing. I’ve assisted Dr. Bradley Willcox of The Okinawa Diet Plan, my Psych Central was mentioned in Living with Eating Disorders, one of my Tweets was in Tiny Buddha and now in Untangle Your Mind: A Pathway to Love, author Marty Avary draws an inspiring picture to go with my quote on forgiveness. I’m really excited and grateful that authors have found my words online. I hope you get a chance to pick up the book. All the quotes in there are inspiring.