Monthly Archives: October 2026

I love Halloween! I can’t wait to see all the kids on my street in their cute costumes. I’ve seen fairies, princesses, and even an adorable walking dictionary! And speaking of Halloween, here’s a heart-warming story about the power of … Continue reading →

We’ve all been there—struggled with flat characters, thorny plot issues, pacing—along with tough self-publishing and marketing decisions. Help is at hand! Hank Quense, my good friend, is offering us all some amazing support through his website. As an author and … Continue reading →

Everything I do all day, I do in preparation for my reading time. Give me a great novel or memoir, some tea and a cozy spot to curl up in, and I’m in heaven…Insight, information, knowledge, inspiration, power: All that … Continue reading →

From the pithy, wonderful guide, Steering the Craft, by Ursula K. Le Guin: “Again I am inclined to fault journalists and schoolteachers, however well meaning, for declaring it a sin to say the same word twice, driving people to the thesaurus … Continue reading →

He Wishes for the Cloths Of Heaven Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,Enwrought with golden and silver light,The blue and the dim and the dark clothsOf night and light and the half-light,I would spread the cloths under your feet:But I, … Continue reading →

Wanting to be a writer and having F. Scott Fitzgerald as your dad must have been a tough row to hoe. But that’s exactly what happened to Scottie Fitzgerald. When she felt a bit discouraged about a story she’d penned … Continue reading →

“In our rush-rush world, if we allow ourselves to slow down our lives andour writing process, we’ll discover that we’ll connect — or reconnect — with our most profound work.” Louise DeSalvo, The Art of Slow Writing Slow cooking and … Continue reading →

Writers are word lovers and when we love them hard and long enough, they love us back. Writerly thoughts on word wooing to inspire us all: “A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how … Continue reading →

Robert Louis Stevenson came up with the plot for the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde during a dream. Paul McCartney discovered his hit song “Yesterday” in a dream.  Mary Shelley’s dream at Lord Byron’s villa inspired Frankenstein. Dreams have … Continue reading →

“Freedom lies in being bold.”Robert Frost Writing dangerously is all about becoming bolder. Here’s how my handy Oxford Compact English Dictionary defines the word “bold:” 1) confident and courageous; 2) audacious, impudent; and 3) (of a colour or design) strong and vivid.  … Continue reading →