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…
Tag: inspiration
When An Idea Hits You, You Jump [for joy]
Hi You All, I’m glad you’re still here reading my blogs. I’m so thankful and happy about that. As you’ve been with me for a while, you know that this summer I experienced what we might call burnout, or the feelings of being a little tired from all that has occurred over the last several…
The Case for Teaching: Inspiring Students AND Inspired by Students
It’s Sunday morning, and I’m sitting on my porch writing this post and looking at this glorious day sipping my cup of coffee from my Yeti (which keeps it INCREDIBLY hot, let me just say). In a little while, my daughter and I will head to my parents’ house and sit by their pool and…
A Cup of Candor’s Dose of Inspiration – From Princess Diana & the HBO Special
* Two nights ago, I couldn’t sleep. I don’t watch a lot of television, but that night, I watched a movie with my kids, then got caught up in another, and then, finally, landed on HBO and watched Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, the documentary about Princess Diana as told by her two…
Answering the Question: How Many Books Have You Sold?
How many books have you sold? It’s the question people like to ask me about my recently released novel entitled Inn Significant. It seems to be the question people have on their minds as the marker that indicates how successful the book has been thus far. The funny thing is, I liken the question to…
Inn-spiration in Inn Significant | Photo Inspiration When Writing Description
The students in both sections of my Magazine Writing classes can tell attest to what we worked on this week: (1) writing description and detail, (2) storytelling, and (3) finding your voice in your writing. I think about these three things constantly when I write, and as you read in my previous post about being…
Don’t Put Limitations on Yourself: Inspiration to Achieve the Goals You Set for Yourself
* Writer and director James Cameron (Titantic, Avatar, and the Terminator) says it best at the end of his Ted Talk on Ted.com: Don’t put limitations on yourself; other people will do that for you. I typically show this Ted Talk to my university feature writing students each fall after they read a piece about…
Walking for Mind, Body, Spirit…AND To Improve Creativity
*** It’s 1:35 p.m. on a sunny, gorgeous Friday here in Maryland where the temps are a stunning 79 degrees, and I’ve just returned from an hour-long walk. There are no excuses when the weather is this spectacular. As someone who admittedly has not taken very good care of herself over the last few years…
Campus Book Talk Tonight and Some Monday Inspiration
I’m excited to talk to students tonight about the self-publishing world. Faculty in the Halls, a program at Stevenson University, has asked me to speak to students about the path of publishing your own book. As I’ve published two novels this way, I’m excited to share my knowledge of the growing arm of publishing, how…
And Then Inspiration Comes: Start Writing | Hints and Tips for Writers and Bloggers
You want to write. Writing is in your blood. You bloggers know this is true. You novelists know this is true. Magazine writers, newspaper writers, nonfiction writers, script writers—it’s part of who you are; it makes up your very existence. You can’t imagine life without it. And yet, some days it’s difficult to find inspiration….
Snow-Inspired Whites For Comfort and Style
After being surrounded by a blanket of approximately 30 inches of snow, the beauty of it truly is stunning. The blast of snow inspired me to create a post celebrating the color white. White is clean and fresh, even in the dead of winter. So even if you don’t want to play in it, you…
Imitation is the Most Sincere Form of Flattery
I blog. I Facebook. I Tweet. I Instagram. I even occasionally YouTube. But lately, I’ve done a lot of pinning on Pinterest. As someone who enjoys magazines–from magazines about fashion, home, travel, and writing–Pinterest is a great way to “collect” ideas electronically. Don’t get me wrong, though. I have still spent a fortune on home…
