by Beth Castrodale In late 2014 and early 2015, both of my elderly parents died within four months. Although their deaths were far from unexpected, I found myself unable to forge ahead on the novel I’d been working on over the previous two years. Against the loss of my parents,Continue Reading
Congratulations Mel and Celia! You are the winners of Jadie’s giveaway. Watch your email for details and thank you to all who entered! by Jadie Jones When Colleen asked me if I would write a post for her about time management… I laughed at the idea that I—a mom ofContinue Reading
by Ann Marie Ackermann I discovered a historical murder case in a 19th-century forester’s diary here in Germany, where I live. The forester detailed his role in a murder investigation. The mayor of Bönnigheim was assassinated in 1835 and a letter came from the USA in 1872 offering the solutionContinue Reading
The writer’s creative brain works in mysterious ways. Sometimes, it’s thrilling, like when you’re driving along and suddenly a new idea pops into your head for how to iron out that plot point you’ve been struggling with. Or when you wake up with the story outline of your next novelContinue Reading
by Maryanne Pope “Writing is not life, but I think that sometimes it can be a way back to life.” – Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft On Thursday September 28th, 2000, my husband John and I had an argument while walking our dog. I told himContinue Reading
If you’re making the commitment to NaNoWriMo this November, you can bet that somewhere along the way, you’re going to hit a wall. We’re talking about 30 days of motivating yourself to write perhaps more than you’ve ever written before. The goal is 50,000 words. That’s about 1,666 words aContinue Reading
by Pat Stoltey When I say I’m a dreamer, I mean it literally. I also have nightmares. My dreams are weird and my nightmares terrifying. A psychiatrist might wonder if I had a rough childhood full of traumas and abuse, but my childhood was wonderful. I grew up on aContinue Reading
Do you dress up for Halloween? If not, do you dress up at any other time? Do you go all out for an awards dinner, for example, dress up to give a presentation, or even dress up like one of your characters to get into his or her head? IContinue Reading
by Luisito E. Batongbakal Jr. We’ve all heard about the evils of prolonged sitting: The longer you sit, the higher your chance of suffering lower back pain. Not surprisingly, almost every corner of the Internet is advocating the use of standing desks to curb occupational back pain. It’s true thatContinue Reading
One of my favorite author interviews took place back in 2015, with Karen Jones Gowen. As a writer and a publisher, she had a unique take on the whole “writing life” experience, because she’d seen it from both sides. She spoke about the challenges writers have fitting writing in withContinue Reading
The term “sedentary lifestyle” has become a buzzword in our house of late. My husband has real concerns about the fact that I spend all day typing at my computer. I get so locked into my projects, so focused on what I’m doing, I forget about everything else. When myContinue Reading
Walking is great for writers. I talked about it in a previous post (“What Famous Writers Know About Walking”), and shared some great quotes from famous authors like J. K. Rowling and Charles Dickens. In general, writers love walks not only because they provide an easy and enjoyable way toContinue Reading