Canada Day.
The national holiday, so of course I had work to do… Read more
Category: on the writer’s life
Oh, Brother – My Tragicomedy
Author William Saroyan wrote of tragicomedy: “Remember to be good-humoured. Remember to be good-natured. And remember that in the middle of that which is most tragic, there is always the comic, and in the midst of that which is most evil, there is always much good.”
I’ve been noticing dramatic plot twists recently and the impact on a reader, going from hilarity to devastation within a page and conversely, experiencing triumph in an impossibly dire situation. This certainly inspires continued reading. Although this makes for good reading, in real life, plot twists are frustrating and exhausting and I would usually prefer life on a more even keel. Read more
Selfish Mom Rubs Elbows With the Masters
Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who are moms, who want to be moms and who refuse to be moms. Yesterday was a day for love, as we all have or had an amazing woman as a mother, and we all should’ve celebrated with cake, while we remembered the love they shared with us.
This year for Mother’s Day, I was a selfish mom.
I bought myself a present. One I didn’t want to share with anyone, but me:
Alone time, away from the family to do this… Read more
Creating My Author Website; With Abby
I’ve been crafting this blog in my mind for weeks and then today, my blog was hijacked by Abby.
I had it all planned out. I completed my research, aligned my information points and was prepared to deliver you the hard facts on creating the perfect author website. I had a series of blogs planned in order to share my experience as a writer, who, in denial of the times, was holding to the statement that I didn’t need a website. I would chronical how I finally caved to logic and I was going to use my blog to share what I’ve learned and will learn through this adventure so that other authors may embark on creating their own website. Read more
Under the Influence
As writers, our job is to create stories. Unique stories. It doesn’t matter whether they take shape inside poems, short stories or novels, because either way, we are still developing distinctive characters and a plotline. We are telling a story from beginning to end. The question is, how do you come up with the uniqueness of the story, when there are already billions of stories in existence. How will your story stand out from the rest? It may not be that unique after all. Or is it? Read more
No Time To Write!
I’ve not said it, but I’ve thought it more than a few times recently. I have no time to write.
You know, I’ve been busy. I sold my house, packed up my belongings, moved.
And I’ve taken on some new responsibilities. I’ve started doing a few new things that I’ve always wanted to try. And I’ve not stopped doing the other things I was able to do before I had freed myself of my mortgage.
And now, I catch myself thinking that I’m too busy to write.
Read more
Writing with Confidence
“I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it people like me!”
For those of you who are fans of Saturday Night Live, you’ll probably recognize that quote from one of the many episodes of ‘Daily Affirmation with Stuart Smalley’ that ran on the powerhouse comedy show throughout the 1990s.
Comedian Al Franken played Stuart, who in a nutshell, was a pretty insecure dude who dedicated his life to self-help (he was in several 12-step programs but not a licensed therapist as the voice over on his cable network television show explained). Read more
A Fool for Stories
Last night I did something I hadn’t done in a while. I laid out some tarot cards and gave myself a reading.
I’m not great at knowing what each card represents. I still need the companion book to decipher what the Four of Cups is trying to tell me, or why the Queen of Pentacles is upside down. After all thirteen cards were translated, I realized they all fit together and told a little story. A story of my life; the recent past and what the future might hold, and right in the middle – the present – was The Fool. Me. Read more