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…
Blog: Just Write
The Joy & Wonder of Writing
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…
Tuesdays at 10
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…
The Blank Page
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…
Dreams Really Do Come True!
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…
How to Make Your Inner Critic Shut the Hell UP!
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…
What I Learned from Working with An Editor
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…
Murder Your Darlings
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…
The Best Birthday Gift Ever!
Yesterday, August 29th, was my birthday. I’m always thankful to make it to another birthday because tomorrow isn’t promised. This birthday was extra special. I got the best birthday gift ever, and it came in my Inbox. Can you guess what it is? You’ll figure it out but I will let the suspense build anyway….
The Perfect Pitch
Before you ask, that’s not me. But it is a perfect representation of what will be happening to me on August 27th. Let me explain. I was reading an article about why you should never give up on your writing. The article talked about the usual stuff: rejections, persistence, determination. Yada-yada (sorry, I was in…