So, where did I leave off? Ah, yes, my first jittery days in quarantine, and still in a grocery store without a mask (I wear one now). Read more
Category: on the writer’s life
Writing a Short Story During a Pandemic
To stay writing inspired during Covid 19 time, I took Lori Twining advice (see her blog, ascribewriters.com/everything-is-cancelled-almost ) and registered for the online Master Class. This was perfect for me as the classes are in short chunks and doesn’t require me to do anything more than listen to a professional author talk about their writing process. I wanted something to keep me inspired to write during this pandemic when it can be hard to focus. The first class I took (David Sedaris) discussed the importance of journal writing. The author uses his daily journal entries as inspirations for his humorous essays.
I’ve never been a daily journal writer in my every day life. But when I travel, I keep a journal. I have notebooks stashed in my closet from my three months solo backpacking trip in Europe in my early twenties and my year of adventure in India and Nepal. Even a week long canoe trip earns a thin, water-stained book. But in my “normal” life, I never thought of journaling about every day events. Mostly because it doesn’t seem like anything exciting happens to write about. But David Sedairs writes in his journal of the small things such as a taxi drive to the airport or a visit to a shop. Nothing dramatic like being taken hostage. On a side note, you should always carry a small notebook with you at all times just in case you are taken hostage so you can journal the experience.
Read moreEditing and Pruning
While I’ve recently had more time on my hands, staying at home and practicing social distancing during this pandemic, I decided to tackle our spring pruning. With my brain relaxed and hands engaged with this down to earth task, I couldn’t help thinking about the similarities between editing and pruning trees.
Read moreWriting In The Time of Covid
I’m not sure if I’ve spoken much about my “writing break” in this space, but like we hear with Covid-19 jargon, I think I flattened the curve of writers block-itis and am on the downside of the peak.
When I finished writing my last novel in the summer of 2019 (“Thursday Afternoons” by Bella Books), I hung up my keyboard for an indeterminate amount of time. The old “TBA” as to when I would start writing fiction again. I just…lost it. The drive, the inspiration, the energy. I felt like I still knew how to write; it was more a matter of feeling I had nothing to say. Read more
The Book Shuffle
I’ve had to cull my collection of books. It is a cringe-worthy task for book lovers but it has been ten years since the last round.
Maybe my age and thoughts of downsizing spurred me to get this done. Or it may have been the COVID 19 virus invasion. My sisters and I have been known to clean house when stressed or anxious.
Teetering between feeling vulnerable one moment and invincible the next is my experience of these worrying times. What was barely imaginable a couple of months ago is embraced as routine today. What a gift social media is right now. It’s beautiful to see the inspiring, loving and joyful ways folks are supporting each other. Not to mention the miracle of virtual get-togethers taking place. A couple of friends and I created a three-woman book club for ourselves.
Read moreEverything is Cancelled… Almost!
Everything is cancelled… ALMOST!
I know! I know!
We all had some major plans and a detailed vision of how 2020 was going to go for us, but then everything we had planned exploded into tiny pixels and all we can see in the near future is the everlasting smoke clouds circling around us. We are impatiently waiting for the sunshine to break through.
Several of my plans for writing retreats and writing conferences have been cancelled for this entire year, as I isolate myself at home. This sounds like devastating news, however, there is a silver lining to all of this…
Read moreLook- I don’t know what the answers are- it’s my first pandemic
Yelled at a woman in the grocery store two days ago. I’d been standing in line with my cart at the demarcated line behind the cart ahead of me. For some reason, a woman at the next checkout decided to back out and head toward me. I politely directed her attention to the marks on the floor. She kept rolling closer; I pointed to the marks again. She kept coming toward my right side. Finally, I held my hand up like a traffic cop and boomed out: “Stop! You are getting too close to me! Back away!” Yes, I actually used those words. She gave me this surprised look, and murmured, “Oh! Sorry!” and then backed up. Would I have done that Before? Hell no. Was there another way I could have handled it? Maybe, maybe not. She was not practicing social distancing when she should have. I freaked out.
I don’t know what the answers are – it’s my first pandemic. Read more
Our Dystopian Future
Wait a minute—what just happened? I was living this very active busy life going to the gym 3 times a week, seeing my massage therapist, my chiropractor, writing, working part time, knitting and watching whatever appealed to me on TV. I spent my free time travelling, visiting my friends and having a grand old time. Then someone “hacked” into my world and took over, telling me where I can go, when I can go, and how I will behave when I am there. My last place of refuge currently is my home and my own property.
I have always admired writers who create fantastical worlds and populate them with weird and wonderful things. Harry Potter and all of his adventures, the Hunger Games trilogy being two of my favourite series. My imagination never takes me to such places in my mind. Instead I am fascinated with “true” stories, the stuff of everyday people living their everyday lives. I want to figure out what makes people behave as they do. In my world everything makes sense and there are always underlying reasons waiting to be discovered to answer, “why would she do that?”
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