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I wanted to share my post from the HSG blog this month because it’s about writing accountability. I have quazillioned my output this year and if you want to do the same, go read my post! Writing AccountabilityRead More →

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I read Queen Mab by Kate Danley in less than a day. (BTW, I also read her book The Woodcutter and both are divine.) Naturally, a story with Romeo and Juliet at its center lends one to learn some awesome dating advice. Dating Advice from Romance Novels: Queen Mab Don’t let some dude talk you into moving your sacred bull or other sacred farm animals, because that just makes a whole century-long, life-or-death kind of mess. Don’t make wagers with aforementioned dude-who-already-tricked-you. Clearly, your bitterness will be your undoing. UNLESS, of course, you meet a guy who can only see the good in you becauseRead More →

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I’ve recently been puzzling over a story that seemed to have everything going for it… and it just faltered. I’d written a hundred pages and blah, boring, and the heroine was just bitchy. It wasn’t working. Then I realized I started the story too late. We’ve all heard the warnings about starting a story too soon, but this was different. All the good, clicky stuff happened before the story started. And I just figured, hey, great backstory. Except it should’ve been story. I kept playing with it in my mind, turning it around, and I would always come back to what if I wrote about the before?Read More →

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I’ve experienced a lot of tragedy in the last three months. In February, one of my friends since childhood was brutally murdered. In March, my grandfather passed away. And last week, my mother-in-law died from a sudden illness. I am exhausted. I don’t mean that to sound mean, like, “Oh, hey, people dying is very inconvenient for me.” I just feel like I’ve walked through an emotional mine-field. And I have written. I know I have, because since January, I’ve kept a small calendar in which I put a star on every day that I write. I’ve missed maybe four days a month, on average,Read More →

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Then 12.19.08 The Importance of Pre-Writing I tried looking at pictures. Incidentally, Apartment Therapy is an awesome site.  So I bought a graph paper pad and I just drew the dance studio/apartment in no time.  I then described the way the rooms looked.  I included whoever’s viewpoint popped into my head, because different people see different things.  This helps me in two ways: 1) I can visualize these important places and the events that took place there easier and 2) I’ve got ready made description when I write scenes in those places. I was amazed at how much such simple pre-writing work actually ignited my imagination.Read More →

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In honor of Mother’s Day (hi, mom!), I thought I’d throw down five things my mom was totally right about. I will have a child just like me. I have three girls. In some tortuous way, they are each like me. Sometimes it’s an eye roll, sometimes a quippy retort I simply can’t rebut, and sometimes it’s discussing the merits of each Legend of Zelda game. It’s both awful and wonderful to have people so like me. And I bet my mom feels the same way. You’ll thank me when your older. Boy, did I thank her later. Thanks for not letting me go toRead More →

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This morning, my daughter walked around the house, in the aimless way they look for something except they expect you’ll pull it from behind your back and save them the trouble. She was supposed to wear her school shirt today. Literally, everyone else will be wearing theirs. But, she went in the outfit she could find, because I’m that Mom. I know the other mom’s will judge me, maybe the teachers, too. It’s just that she knew two days ago, and she chose to Facetime with her friends yesterday instead of finding her shirt, so… she doesn’t have the shirt. Gotta learn the hard facts aboutRead More →

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My youngest kid has an active imagination. And she’s more often than not got a quippy comeback for everything. Every. Thing. So, allow me to introduce her lizard/dolphin family (The dolphins are the adoptive parents of Susan and Brenda). What’s amusing to me is that this isn’t a one time thing. They have been Susan, Michael, and Brenda and they have been fruitful and multiplied (except Brenda). Without further ado, overheard in my house… Me: I found that lizard, the purple one, in the mess we call ‘your closet.’ P: Susan! That’s great, because these [lizards she bought today] are her babies. Now I justRead More →

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3. There’s this thing called age-appropriateness. No rule is true in every case, but if someone was pushing four decades when you were born, it’s got to make you wonder what you have in common. For example, my husband and I both grew up in the 80s. So when we run out of things to talk about, we can always rehash old Dukes of Hazard and A-Team episodes.Read More →

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If you’re anything like me and most of the planet, you binge-watched House of Cards on Netflix when they debuted the entire season (like they do) in February. Confession: I’ve watched Seasons 1 and 2 three times. Once for each new season because this is a show you have to pay attention to. The smallest detail, especially on the part of Frank or his wife, can mean huge repercussions later. Why are we so obsessed with Francis Underwood and his dirty doings? How is someone so amoral the protagonist of the story? To answer that, we have to talk about anti-heroes. According to dictionary.com anRead More →