Posts by Lynn Slaughter
Parenting: The Ultimate Crap Shoot
My husband and I are in Manhattan at the moment visiting my older son, beautiful daughter-in-law, and our precious two and a half year old grandson. The adjectives give me away.
Read MoreWhat’s In a Name?
I’d barely unpacked my bags for my first grad school residency when I heard about one of the most revered teachers and mentors in the program, an accomplished horror author. “He’s brutal in his critiques,” an upperclassman informed me, “but if you survive, he’ll help you become a really good writer.” He paused and said, “You’ll never get…
Read MoreThe Other Reason Authors Write Series Books
I’ve been working on revisions of my third YA novel, Gone. This process can, of course, go on for weeks and months.
Read MoreMy Post-Colonoscopy Glow
Woody Allen once said: “It’s not the idea of death that bothers me. It’s the hours.” I feel that way about colonoscopies.
Read MoreMaking It Legal
Last night, I attended a wedding. After sixteen years together, a lovely couple at my church got married.
Read MoreDealing with my Own “Stuff”
This past week, I took a professional development workshop on first aid for mental health, a program that originated in Australia and is now gaining widespread adoption in the states. It’s designed to teach skills in recognizing and responding to folks who may be in the early-stages of a mental health crisis
Read MoreMOTHERHOOD: THERE’S NO EXPIRATION DATE
As I write this, it’s Mother’s Day. I’ve been thinking a lot about the experience of being a mom. Pre-children, I imagined being a mom was pretty much a temporary gig.
Read MoreMY TURN TO BLAME SET
President Obama had barely taken the oath of office when Senator Mitch McConnell, one of the folks who makes me profoundly embarrassed to admit I live in Kentucky, announced his primary goal was to limit Obama to one term in office. He didn’t succeed, but he and his Republican cronies became the “party of No”…
Read MoreIt’s Not Altruism, But It Sure Feels Good
I once sat in a communications lecture in which the professor announced, “There’s no such thing as altruism.” I raised my hand.
Read MorePowerful Writing Advice from Donald Maass
My writer’s group takes turns leading mini-workshops on aspects of fiction writing. Recently, it was my turn. The subject was upping the stakes in our stories. When I re-read Donald Maass’s chapter on stakes from his outstanding WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL,
Read More