Today Hubby and I are celebrating thirty-five years of marriage.
Hopes and dreams of writing have been with me at least that long but unlike the marriage, I haven’t really made the commitment. Mostly I’ve talked about writing.
I am prepared. A comfy nook waits for me; shelves crammed full of a hundred books about language and use of words. Well, at least thirty books. Does anyone need advice on how to write the perfect toast, blessing or witch’s chant? Read more
By Tracey Richardson
I’m a research nerd. I don’t love it as much as writing, but it’s a close second. It’s one of the reasons I choose such a wide range of settings and characters in my novels. I’ve written about soldiers in war zones, gamblers in Vegas, musicians on a festival circuit, doctors trying to save a life.
And while I didn’t visit a war zone as part of my research or start playing doctor on “patients”, I did learn how to play a pretty mean game of blackjack and am learning how to play the guitar.
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They’re everywhere. You’ve seen them. You know who I mean.
They’ll be in a restaurant, furtively casting about for the sordid enablers of their habits: a pencil, a pen, a crayon from the kids’ activity box. Then begins the begging for something – the back of a receipt, a crumpled serviette – as long as it’s portable and papery, to write on.
Soon, not caring if there’s a conversation, a meal, a concert – completely and rudely oblivious – they will hunch over, head down, lips moving silently. They can’t help themselves; they’re addicted. Read more
In Buddhism they say, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. While I haven’t always found that to be true, I have found, when the writer is ready, the writing group will appear. I’ve been lucky to be part of a few writing groups in my lifetime, and hope to be part of a few more. There’s a wide variety of groups out there, but what I’ve needed as a writer has appeared at just the right moment. One thing all my writing groups have offered is camaraderie, cheering, and a few good laughs. All these serve to keep our spirits up when the way gets dark and lonely and the road of life gets a little bumpy. Read more
Let’s face it, if you are a writer, you WILL be rejected at least once in your life time… and if you are LUCKY, you will be rejected several times. Yes, you read it right, I said if you are lucky.
Being rejected is the first step to becoming a better writer.
For fifty-five years words have been my constant companion. When I was an infant I struggled to recognize them, as a child I needed to master understanding them, saying them, using them. When my grandmother taught me to read and write, my four year old mind was in heaven.
As a young person I was led to believe that my life would be easier if I found a vocation and stuck to it. And it was understood that a vocation involved hard physical work, or being trained in a highly technical trade. Read more
I dislike the word “marathon”.
Since it involves extensive sustained activity, there is an implication that it will take more than my average daily output of energy for achievement.
Even though there are many things that I love to do, such as eat, drink wine, play with my dogs, I don’t necessary want to do them in a marathon kind of way. So when Lori Twinning told me about a writing marathon in Huntsville and that it was the best writing event of the year for her, I said no. That was last year.
This year, I had made a new years’ resolution both to try something new outside my comfort zone and to write more. The writing marathon would sacrifice a weekend, but would achieve both goals with one swoop. So with trepidation, I agreed to try out my first writing marathon.
I’ve heard that exercise boosts creativity.
My third novel marathon begins this Friday. At eight o’clock sharp the writing will begin – 40 writers in a room with their laptops, typing away the hours, the silence will envelope us and we will focus.
However, I have stared at the end of a sentence for god knows how long, the lovely silence lulling me into a stupor that I can’t seem to shake.
What to do…. Read more
