“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” ~ Scott Adams, “Dilbert” cartoonist One of the best pieces of advice I’ve been given regarding writing is, “You have to learn to kill your darlings.” What this means is I have to learn to let go of those little nuggets — Read More
Grammar gripe: LOL BRB WTF WUT?
“OMG,” “LOL” and the symbol for “heart” have all been added to the Oxford English Dictionary Online. It’s true. You can read about it here. Sadly, I’m not surprised at all. I blame text messaging for the trend of conversing more and more in shorthand. We have “smart” phones now. We are Tweeting and Facebooking — Read More
What would you call your work shed?
When you envision your ideal creative space, what do you see? I see one room with a desk, a chair, and a stone fireplace. For some reason, I also see a daybed. This is probably because I love naps. The floors are old hardwood. It’s quiet. It’s desolate. If I look out the window, there is a — Read More
Inspiration
A while ago, a family friend asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” I shrugged. She pressed, “Well, what makes something worthy of you spending months and months turning it into a story?” I still had no answer. I think most writers, or creative people in general, would say inspiration is a mystery. Sometimes, a — Read More
Why I won’t get a Kindle
Three reasons: 1. I’m stubbornly resistant to change. I was on the cassette bandwagon, by my lonesome, well into the new millennium. I may or may not still have a Pearl Jam tape in a kitchen drawer. 2. I like the feel of a book in my hands. I like being able to thumb through pages, — Read More
Choosing your readers
As previously mentioned, writers are whores for feedback. While much of writing is a solo adventure, we do need dialogue. For some of us, we need that dialogue from the moment we put pen to paper; for me, it’s after I get a good ‘barf draft’ out of my system. Josh Weil, who was selected — Read More
Workshopping
Work•shop•ping -noun The act of looking for a workshop. As much as writers like to think of themselves as solitary creatures, they need interaction. Let’s face it, we are whores for feedback. We need people to tell us that what we’ve put on paper has some value, that we should keep at it, put off — Read More
“Home is where your story begins”
Ever wondered where your favorite author lived? Not the state or the town, but the house. I have. For some reason, houses have always fascinated me. When I was a kid, writing my first stories, one of my primary tasks (after naming my main character) was to draw a sketch of the character’s house. For me, a home says so — Read More
SWF, looking for Henry Miller enthusiast
So, if none of the bookworm pick-up lines work for you, do not despair! There is now a dating site that specializes in matchmaking for book nerds. Yes, www.alikewise.com creates connections based on literary taste. Members of the site can add books they like to their profile. And they can click on books to see others — Read More
My f-ing muse
**As published on The Writer’s [Inner] Journey ** In writing, there is much discussion of “the muse.” Who is it? Do we wait for him/her/it to appear, or go to work anyway? Does the fact that we talk to this muse make us schizophrenic? When I think of my muse, I think of a very — Read More