Posts Tagged ‘It Should Have Been You’
Excited (and Nervous!) About the Writing Year Ahead
Recently, my award-winning author friend Marilyn Levinson announced she had not one but eight books coming out that year. I was astonished and incredibly impressed! I knew my prolific friend wrote both for young people and adults, but eight books? She explained that several had gone out of print and were being republished—but still! I…
Read MoreFeeling Grateful
We’ve all had those days and weeks as writers when nothing seems to go well. We get a slew of back-to-back rejections, our critique group is less than thrilled with our latest submission, and our work-in-progress is, well…stalling. Only that pesty compulsion to write keeps us going. Fortunately, there are other weeks when lots of…
Read MoreMining My Own Backstory
This past month, my essay on “The Importance of Backstory” appeared on Hasty Book List. I discuss why I’ve found it so helpful to dig deeply into my characters’ backstories (everything that happened to them prior to the beginning of the novel) before I work on plotting. But what about my own backstory? Interestingly, my…
Read More“Are All Your Stories About People in the Arts?”
We were in the middle of a critique session when a fellow writer turned to me and asked, “Are all your stories about people in the arts?” I nodded and gave her the usual explanation, “Well, that’s the world I know.” But digging deeper, running throughout much of my work is the idea that the…
Read MoreStory Ideas: Sometimes I Know Where They Come From, and Sometimes I Don’t!
With Leisha’s Song officially heading out into the world this week, I’ve been doing lots of thinking and talking about the book to wonderful writers’ groups: Kentuckiana Romance Writers, Women Who Write, and the Bard’s Corner Writer’s Group. I love hanging out with other writers, and it’s been fun to trace the development of Leisha’s…
Read MoreVirginia Woolf Was Right
In 1929, Virginia Woolf published her famous essay, A Room of One’s Own, in which she argued that if a woman is to write, she must have money and a room of her own. I’ve certainly been aware of money as a factor in being able to focus on creative work. In the years when…
Read MoreBetter Late Than Never
During my years as a dancer, we never went on stage for a performance before we’d had at least one technical rehearsal followed by a final dress. I was really missing those days on Thursday when my IG Live presentation for Page Street in celebration of NaNo (National Writing Novel Month) didn’t occur at its…
Read MoreChasing the Pandemic Blues Away: Celebrating a Good Week
Just when I was about to slide into one of my “My life has been cancelled and I miss my grandkids” breakdowns, some lovely things happened this week. First off, I typed “THE END” on the first draft of my fifth novel, tentatively called Missed Clue. It needs tons of work. But, as I learned…
Read MoreIn Praise of SWAN (SUPPORT WOMEN ARTISTS NOW)
A couple of years ago, I was honored to be chosen as a participating artist in SWAN (Support Women Artists Now) Day, an annual international celebration of “women’s creativity and gender parity activism” held on the fourth Saturday in March. Louisville’s celebration began in 2008, thanks to the dedication and commitment of playwright Nancy Gall-Clayton…
Read MoreWriting What You Know- Or Want to Know
The other day, I was sitting in a writer’s group getting some feedback on my latest work. A fellow writer turned to me and asked, “Are you always writing about people in the arts?” I realized the answer was “yes.” It wasn’t as though I decided that I was going to make a career out…
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