A penny for your thoughts. My Uncle Jerry used to say that when I was a child, usually accompanied by a pinch on the cheek. He was a character that I didn’t appreciate as much as I would now if he were still in my life. Penny for your thoughts is an odd, older generation…
I need to manage my mind. It’s a bit like Grand Central Station up there these days and since I can’t keep things quiet, I tried gathering. Last week, I herded thoughts into similar groups and then willed them to line up single file. I figured if I could get all of it to hold…
I wonder if I’ll ever run out of things to say. If the time will come when I will wake up, pour a cup of tea, and just like when my fingers strain for the last few tiles in a Scrabble bag, I’ll start running out and eventually I’ll be done. Maybe a person is…
My manuscript is officially late. I had to send a sad little pleading email to my editor who is far too nice to me. She graciously gave me until Monday to finish. As of this morning, that was three extra days. Three full 24-hour cycles. So, naturally given this extra time I got right to work.…
I’m overwhelmed. Like hands full with too many things at the back of the grocery store and I didn’t get a cart, overwhelmed. There’s too much to do, it all needs to be done well and being one of those face painters at the Renaissance Fair is looking ideal. When am I going to learn? Things seem…
Show, don’t tell. It’s a common phrase among editors and high school English teachers love to write it in red pen on a student’s paper. In writing it means instead of telling the reader a story, let them feel the story, invite them in to sit with the characters through dialogue or setting. The first…
If I were a hairdresser, I would want to be called a “dresser” and not a “stylist.” I would own a little two chair place in a small town, tucked close to a bakery. Every morning, just as the sun was coming up, I would walk to work. Down the hill, past the small garage…
Beginnings are such fun. Every time I start a new story, I appreciate the open space. There’s breathing room and all of the doors are open. I have a general idea of my characters, at least my hero and heroine, but decisions have yet to made. I love that. After I am finished with a…
I am a writer. When asked, upon meeting someone new, “What do you do?” these four words are tough for me. Lately, I’ve been wondering why. “I am a writer,” sounds silly, whimsical, not quite, “I’m a circus performer,” but close. They are fine words, even great, when I am in front of my computer, or…