It was uncomplicated and obvious: sit and write. But she could not. Not with the kids, and the dishes, and the emails, and the days that required all of the mental fortitude and focus she could mine from within the depths of her weary being. She was always buzzing with the undercurrent of restless energy … More Chasing Phantoms
Do not fear the messy page, rife with cross-throughs and edits. Those smudges and X’s are like the billowy green algae visible just beneath the surface of the water, evidence of the life lurking beneath. Inception, growth, death, and new life all entwined in the microcosm of the page. Rich, full. No, do not fear … More Do Not Fear the Chaotic Page
(My beloved Paperblanks journal! Get it here: http://amzn.to/2v7JoOw ) It sounds great in theory. Sketch out your plot, draft at your leisure, and slowly but steadily create what will one day become your first published novel. You have other sources of revenue so writing is your passion, not your livelihood, but therein lies the problem. You … More Pitfalls of a Part-time Writer
She remained on the road for the better part of three days. The comforts of a cheap motel-a place apart from time, with no designs on bettering itself- had alleviated a modicum of her stress and smoothed some of the crazy out of her appearance, but she felt little improved. A restlessness was waging war … More The Motel
-Daisy- None of them seemed to grasp the severity of the situation. She was withering away and they were flitting past her like hummingbirds, planning cruises and complaining about Pinterest baking fails. How could they be that blind to the inevitable conclusion? Her inevitable conclusion. Perhaps they weren’t and this was their way of coping. … More Daisy
As I have likely mentioned before, I’m a sucker for a short story collection–something about unraveling the thread that links the seemingly disparate characters and tales– so I all but jumped at the chance to review Josh Barkan’s Mexico: Stories. In it, Barkan, a celebrated writer and Creative Writing professor who lives part-time in Mexico … More An Outsider’s Perspective: Mexico by Josh Barkan
As discussed in my previous post, I have been writing–randomly and erratically–but writing all the same! Current word count for actual first draft of novel: 23, 199. We live baby, yeah! Now that I have my plot outlined, I’m currently working on developing the back-story of my protagonist. Here is an excerpt (that admittedly … More An Excerpt
bookworm_shawn 