It’s November 14, and you know what that means, right? Yes, next week is Thanksgiving, but it’s also the middle of November, better know to writers as National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). It’s time to roll up those sleeves, pour yourself some strong, delicious, and flavorful coffee, put on your black clothing (the writer’s uniform),…
Category: On Life
Social Media Comparison is the Thief of Joy
What the hell are we doing? Honestly? To use Teddy Roosevelt’s wonderful quote: Comparison is the thief of joy. If you want to know the best way to kill your self-esteem and levels of confidence, continue to compare yourself to others on social media. After a few minutes of scrolling through social media, you’re certain…
How Reading and Writing Inspires Me
There are few things that give me more pleasure than totally immersing myself in (a) reading a book, and (b) writing a book. Reading has saved me in many ways. It’s made me smarter, more empathetic, more worldly, and a better writer. It’s given me a sense of purpose. As a youngster, I was too…
A Tear Worth Shedding and Other Things
I thought I’d start this Monday with a little recap of a whole bunch of things I’ve been doing over the last week. Let’s begin with a book recommendation. The Next Person You Meet in Heaven Some people are remarkably gifted storytellers. I finished a book at midnight last night by one such gifted storyteller:…
Let’s Do This Thing
I’m back to motivate you. Are you open to it? Do you have an idea for a novel, memoir, nonfiction story, or a collection of short stories that you need to give some time to this month? You’re in luck. Welcome to National Novel Writing Month, or as we call it for short, #nanowrimo. We’re…
Getting in the Write Frame of Mind
I can equate the feeling of getting in the right frame of mind for yoga to getting in the right frame of mind for writing. It’s time to stop finally stop saying you’re going to write it and actually do it. All I can do is strongly encourage you to write, to tell the…
FROCKTOBER – WEEK 4 And Some Words of Wisdom to Be Kind to Yourself
As FROCKTOBER comes to a close this week, I’m hoping 3 things come from it: 1-That I helped raise some money and awareness for ovarian cancer research; 2-That my Instagram photos–as stressful as they were for me to pick outfits and to take sometimes–didn’t bore you too much, and, 3-That you take away that you…
Why I Bought the Bumblebee Tights
If you’ve seen Me Before You or read the novel by Jojo Moyes, you know what the bumblebee tights are all about, right? In the book and film, the bumblebee tights symbolize Louisa’s independence—and her vivacious spirit—that which Will encourages her to fully embrace and to, in his words, “live boldly.” After I read the…
My Experience of Teaching a Travel Writing Course
I’ve been pretty fortunate to have the opportunity to teach a course called Special Topics in Travel Writing at Stevenson University, where I am a full-time professor. It’s one of my favorite courses to teach, and for years in another course I teach called Feature Writing, we cover travel writing as part of the curriculum….
National Novel Writing Month Kick-off Next Week
Writers get excited about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) like kids get excited about gifts at the holidays. It’s fun, it’s fulfilling, and it can be frenetic. Why? Because you’re trying to write a novel during the month of November. That’s 30 days, people. And if you can’t finish it, you can at least make…
FROCKTOBER Fashion- Week 3 Recap
For the better part of this week, I was sick with a bad head cold, and yet, I made it to all of my classes and meetings. I don’t like to disappoint my students and will show up unless I have a fever or have flu-like symptoms. That’s my game plan. It was a busy…
Friday Fiction : I Hate You (a flash fiction story)
On Fridays we write. Answering a prompt is a good way to stay in touch with your writing, storytelling, and creativity. In this flash fiction piece, the goal was to “write a story with the word ‘hate’ in it.” Simple parameter. I write a lot about relationships, mostly happy ones, and sometimes ones that are…
