“You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.” ― Octavia E. Butler
We have 21 days left in this year. Wow. I wrote 12 goals I wanted to accomplish in 2018. I accomplished 5 of the 12 goals. You may say “that’s not a lot, you must not have done much.” You might be right. However. Writing is a subjective field and the goals I set depended…
[For the second year in a row, I have participated in a short story challenge. This is the final story I will be submitting later this week. I wanted to share it with you.] *** “Joseph, stop the donkey, I have to pee again.” Joseph stopped walking and helped Mary down. She stepped into a…
I can’t believe how fast 2018 is coming to a close. At the beginning of each year, I set a reading goal on Goodreads. I don’t stress about it or freak out if I’m not on track. I just set my goal and do what I love to do: read. Each time I finish a…
In 2017 when I decided to make my dream of being a writer come true, I stumbled upon some advice from Ray Bradbury. He said to write lots of short stories, one per week, for a year. He said it’s impossible to write 52 bad short stories in a row. I took that advice to…
It’s Tuesday. The man with the gold cufflinks is coming. He never eats what he orders which means a full meal for her to sneak home. She shoves her order pad in her apron and goes to prepare his usual table. She arranges the napkin and sugar dispensers on either side of the mini jukebox…
It’s two days shy of a month since I’ve written on my blog. Why? I needed a break. You may remember me talking about entering Pitch Wars. Well, I didn’t get in. It was a huge disappointment. For days after when I sat down to write nothing would come. And I mean nothing. After some…
It has finally happened. After a year and a half of sending out short stories and a lifetime wanting to see my work in print, I am now a published author! You may remember me talking about my short story being accepted for publication. I shared about it here and here. Well, now the book…
My inner critic (IC) is a negative Nancy. So is yours. Okay, and if you’re a man (as a reader pointed out after I wrote this post), it’s a negative Ned. We all have an inner critic and if you say you don’t you’re lying. Our inner critic is the same no matter who we…
Editing. That word strikes images of a white page with my ideas on it riddled with the cruel markings of a red pen. You may remember one of my previous posts where I shared the exciting news that one of my short stories is going to be published. What I didn’t share was the terror that…
Finding Mrs. White’s dead body wasn’t listed on the schedule of events for my writer’s retreat. Writing retreats are tough. I always get brutally honest feedback about my writing. It’s always constructive criticism…but…well, let’s just say Mrs. White has a talent for pushing people to the edge. It was the last day of our writing…