This is my 105th blog post. I started this blog on September 2, 2021, and I’ve posted every Thursday since for two years. I’ve enjoyed it, and I’ve been proud of myself for sticking with it and for keeping up with it consistently. I’m a teacher at heart, and I love sharing what I’ve learned … Read More
What to Do While You’re Waiting
Last week, I offered tips on how to research literary agents. But suppose you’ve done your homework, queried a dozen or so agents, and are impatiently waiting to hear back. Now what? The wait may be long. Agents are inundated with submissions. You can generally expect to a wait at least two to three months … Read More
A Writer’s Days
It’s still sunny here in California. But the weather is getting cooler—most noticeably when the temperatures drop suddenly and rapidly after the sun sets. During the summer, I get up from my desk, away from my computer, and outdoors at least once a day, sometimes more. I go for walks—I moved here to Pismo Beach … Read More
Sidetracked but Not Derailed
I have a passion for railroad trains. As a child, when I was tucked into bed at my grandparents’ house, I loved to listen to the distant choo choo of passing trains. As an adult, I enjoy living on the wrong side of the tracks, where I can hear the call of the trains’ whistles … Read More
Writing from the Wrong Side of the Tracks
I work from home. Home for me was once just across the railroad tracks from the beach. Now it’s even closer, a half block away, and I can still hear the trains from not too far away—they run along Highway 1 just to the east of me. I love living near beaches and train tracks. … Read More
Unplugging
I’m considering getting a home telephone installed. A prehistoric landline. Like many people these days, I gave up my landline more than a dozen years ago. I didn’t need it. Heck, my cell phone has so many bells and whistles, I could give up my television, my CD player, my camera, my calendar, my calculator, … Read More
Writing My Life Away
I used to complain a great deal about how little time I had to write. Okay. I still complain about it. But I complain about it a lot less than I used to. Because years ago I had an epiphany, and I no longer act like my words are something I can’t control. Here’s something … Read More
Ways of Writing
In my teens, I thought writing was agony. I read The Bell Jar and emptied my broken heart into reams of bad, hand-scrawled poetry about the boys who didn’t love me back. In my twenties, I thought writing was detached, hard-rock glamour. It meant jeans and a band T-shirt, dark shades to block out my … Read More
The Power of Persistence
Over the past month, I’ve been setting out the steps for turning your writing dreams into attainable goals: 1. Set your dreams down in writing (The Power of Words); 2. Create specific goals (The Power of Goals); 3. Create a plan to reach your goals (The Power of a Plan); 4. Focus on one goal … Read More
On Structuring Your Writing Life
I used to think of structure as the enemy. I believed that, if I tried to impose any kind of structure on my writing life, it would interfere with my creativity. Writers are artists, right? Artists don’t live a boring, rigorously scheduled, 9-5 life. Artists wake up when they please, go out for coffee in … Read More