This has been a week of movement for me. I moved forward in my work with bolder, braver decisions and put some new projects in motion. My head is whirling and I'm traveling this weekend, but it's been a good week, altogether. 1. Small equals close. I love big gatherings, but there's a hidden rule when you have more than six or seven people in a…
It's my pleasure today to introduce you to my good friend Scott. Scott and I originally met at a meeting to discuss the creative future of an arts and news journal that our church was publishing at the time. The journal disappeared, but Scott and I stayed in touch, exchanging stories after we'd discovered we were both aspiring fiction writers. Scott was always generous with praise…
Comparison is the thief of joy. -Anonymous I recently awoke from a vivid dream filled with high seas adventures, golden beaches, a stowaway, an overprotective parent, unrequited love, and secret treasures of the heart. The interesting part about this dream is that I took away from it less inspiration for a new story to write, and more inspiration for how I will treat my writing friends. To be…
In two and a half days, I logged over 10,000 words of story architecture, plotting, and brainstorming for my newest novel idea as a byproduct of a writers retreat that I and seven other individuals enjoyed this last weekend. Was the writing retreat productive? Absolutely. But it was so much more than word counts and fresh pages of prose. Can you remember those time-freezing, luminous moments that your…
I took this picture on the beach, a few minutes' walk away from the cabin where I and three fellow writers retreated for three nights and four days (last Thursday through Sunday) that we dedicated to writing. You do not have to be rich to go on a writing retreat. We've used cabins that belonged to friends. You do not have to be a brilliant established writer to go a…
Today, I'm prepared to delve into the emotional side of writing. It's my homage to the holiday. Valentine's Day, at least in our culture, has been dedicated to red paper hearts, flowers, creme-filled chocolates, expensive dinners and anything else you can put a Hallmark icon on. Then there's the flip side of Valentine's Day for all those singles out there--and though that's not me anymore, I've been there…