Monthly Archives: November 2025

Let’s launch this holiday time with love and gratitude for all we hold dear! May your life be filled with joy and thanksgiving, now and always: God’s WorldEdna St. Vincent Millay “O world, I cannot hold thee close enough!Thy winds, … Continue reading →

“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” “My book came out; and people began to think that topsy-turvy Louisawould amount to something after all.” “Some books are so familiar, that reading them is like … Continue reading →

There’s probably no more beguiling and bedeviling dimension to a work of fiction than structure. It’s the framework that a story hangs upon and the scaffolding upon which characters spring into life. A strong structure gives a story backbone and … Continue reading →

Wild Nights Wild nights! Wild nights! We’re I with thee,  Wild nights should be Our luxury! Futile the winds to a heart in port,– Done with the compass, Done with the chart.  Rowing in Eden! Ah! The sea! Might I … Continue reading →

“Anyone can do anything at any time.” Grammy Award Winner I don’t know anything about the young man who said this in a Grammy acceptance speech — who he was, what songs he’d written, or how he rose up to … Continue reading →

“I invented this rule for myself to be applied to every decision I might have to make in the future. I would sort out all the arguments and see which belonged to fear and which to creativeness, and other things … Continue reading →

A short story: One day his conservatory teacher, Nicolay Rubenstein, gave a young Tchaikovsky’s composition class an assignment to write out variations on a given theme. Emphasizing that he wanted his students to deliver as many as possible, Rubenstein expected … Continue reading →

“This stuff (writing) keeps you young. They let us guys go out and be designated kids for everybody else, and we get to make stuff up and live on the playground. The challenge is to be an adult at least … Continue reading →

“Courage is the first of all human virtues because it makes all others possible.” Aristotle Both in life and in our writing, courage is one quality we need to harvest our dreams and leap over whatever challenges we face. Dale … Continue reading →

Autumn Chant Now the autumn shuddersIn the rose’s root.Far and wide the laddersLean among the fruit. Now the autumn clambersUp the trellised frame,And the rose remembersThe dust from which it came. Brighter than the blossomOn the rose’s boughSits the wizened … Continue reading →