In today’s digital age, everything from baby’s first steps to loved ones’ last breaths are easily documented and shared through social media with as wide a circle as one wishes. Technology is a great aid to writing families’ stories and histories, making it easier in many ways. I like to think there is room to expand the practice of documenting and recollecting to share with family and friends.
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Yesterday, on Sunday, March 17th, many people celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by wearing clothing in the symbolic colour green, chugging green beer, and telling dirty Irish limerick jokes around the supper table. I’m lucky to have some Irish blood running through me on my mother’s and father’s sides of the family, so I have a few sweary tales that would make you laugh.
However, I want to share three facts that might blow your mind about St. Patrick’s Day:
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As I write this, World Book Day was just celebrated three days ago. What a great idea!
I love books. I love reading books with facts and I love books with stories. We talk here mostly of stories we as writers create. But do you ever wonder why stories are so important to us? Read more
For someone who claims to love writing, I sure can find every excuse NOT to write. Here I am… on a dedicated writing retreat. A clean house, with big inviting windows, open wide to the creativity. The quiet that only a place away from home can provide; with no chores, no dishes, no laundry, no pets… only the sun streaming in and the trees waving their wishes to the wind. The house hums… hums with electricity, heating and… potential.
That’s it. Potential.
I make a coffee. For once, with no rush of the day, no next thing, no must be on time. I’m able to stir. Listen to the tin, tin as the metal spoon strikes and scrapes the sides to lift and mix my sugar, like I’m mixing my thoughts.
Starting, for me, is sometimes the hardest part.
Then… it’s about sticking to it and meeting my potential. That word again. Potential.
After a week away, dedicated to drafting, I need to find the fortitude to continue. This post is a pep talk for my writerly self. I hope you will find a nugget to polish into a gem. Read more
“Fact and fiction are so intermingled in my work that now, looking back on it, I can hardly distinguish one from the other.” – Somerset Maugham
Last I left you, dear reader, I had submitted my first fifty pages, query and synopsis for critique, to a NYTimes bestselling author and I was awaiting her notes. In the meantime, my husband had knee replacement surgery and I lost what was to be my bountiful writing time. But hey, life happens…
Sound familiar? That was how my blog opened on November 27th and finished up like this:
Now I’m energized to go back to my old novel and fix the beginning, hone in on my climax, and then finish fixing the writing…And to top it off, my husband’s knee is on the mend and he’s back to driving which means I now have the writing time I was craving. But of course, Christmas is coming…
But then, life happened–again. On December 4th, playing hockey, I injured my knee. Now it was my turn on the couch. In some ways, the timing was good, we had all the equipment at home: ice packs, walker, cane. And my husband was now well enough to take care of me.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Are you into resolutions? Starting something new with the new year?
For me, although it’s not new, it’s fiction writing. So it’s more of a return to something. After my last novel came out in September, 2022 (“Ten Days in May”), I took a long break from writing. Well over a year, in fact. Through the books (and the years), I’ve taken longer breaks between manuscripts. I marvel at how I used to write a book a year while working a full-time job. Now I’m mostly retired and I’m writing a book every couple of years. Go figure!
So if you’re diving back into writing after a long break (because hey, life gets in the way more often than we would like), I’ve got some tips that have helped ease the transition for me.
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This is my last blog for 2023. It is hard to believe the year is almost over.
In less than three weeks, we will jump feet first into a new year. It’s impossible to not be sad that you didn’t accomplish everything you were hoping for on your to-do list or goal-oriented calendar. At the same time, excitement is rumbling in your tummy for a new year to start. January always presents a clean slate that allows you to create a new list of endless possibilities.
To make the new goal list, it is always fun to use the week off from work—between Christmas and New Year’s Eve—to realize just how much you have accomplished over the last twelve months. Sometimes, reflecting on our experiences, whether they were fabulous success stories, terrible embarrassing moments, or memorable explosive train wrecks you never want to mention again… they all led to baby steps in your progress to conquer the “big thing” you have been daydreaming about for years.
What is that “big thing” I’m talking about?
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