I have a writing room of my own. I offered a tour here. But I’ve gravitated to the living room. To the soft leather chair with the soft leather footstool. With the laptop on my lap. Or half on the footstool and half on my knees. Front row center for Tiger baseball games. And because […]
Squirrel Thoughts – Crybaby
Monday: Melancholy day. Like every day after coming home from a visit with my sissy. Tuesday. Bad day. Crybaby day. Foot-in-mouth disease day. We all have them. This video helped me. I posted it on Facebook. But for those of you who didn’t see it, here it is again. It made me laugh. So I’m […]
There are Rules? A Photoplay Prompt
I wondered what those little lines were on the “P” section of the turny thing-a-ma-jig on my camera! I always freaked when I accidentally bumped into those boundaries. But guess what? They are supposed to help in photo composition using something called the “rule of thirds.” This is the kind of thing I learn by […]
A Worm… and a Hope
I’m more than halfway through Stone Crossings by L.L. Barkat, but I often go back to re-read what came before. And I’m hung up on the crimson (scarlet) worm, the towla worm, that she describes . “How then can a man be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? If even […]
Squirrel Thoughts – Old
Dennis and I are silent as we drive along until . . . SQUIRREL! Me: “Stop the car! Now!” SQUEEEEAL! Him: “What? What’s wrong?” Me: “Cloud mountains. Must. Take. Picture.” Later at Hartwick Pines, I snap pictures of every sign and every display. A little research for my WIP. I linger in the bunkhouse and […]
Endless Energy-Boundless Strength
I’m not saying my husband is cheap Even though he wears a special “uniform” for summer yard work. He cuts off the sleeves of his white dress shirts and completes the ensemble with faded, tattered, and holey jean cutoffs, with strings hanging to his knees–and has no problem wearing the outfit to town. Sometimes I […]
Do They Sweat in Duke City? / Fiction as Research by Stephen Bly
Today I welcome a guest poster, Stephen Bly. Steve has authored over 100 books and hundreds of articles. His book, The Long Trail Home, won the 2002 Christy Award for excellence in Christian fiction in the category western novel. Three other books, Picture Rock, The Outlaw’s Twin Sister, and Last of the Texas Camp were […]
Blog Birthday Reflections
I’ve blogged now for a whole year. Translation: I’ve kept up with one thing for a whole year. Yep. July 12. This blog’s birthday. I planned to repost some earlier writings this week to celebrate. But nah. Maybe I’ll tweet some links to some of my favorites or top hits. Maybe. Maybe not. I wrote […]
Running
Mike was a police officer. Joanne was a nurse. They birthed children, fostered children, adopted children. Special needs. Mike and Joanne played soccer in college. Their kids played practically from the time they could walk. Mike and Joanne coached. They lived life on the run. Church activity to church activity. Doctor to doctor. Game to […]
Squirrel Thoughts – 3 (and The Right to Write)
I’ve begun to work my way through The Right to Write by Julia Cameron. ” . . . most of us try to write too carefully. We try to do it ‘right.’ We try to sound smart. We try, period. Writing goes much better when we don’t work at it so much. When we give […]
