3 Things I Learned So Far in 2021
Unbelievable to think we are well into April already, isn’t it? While 2020 crawled along like a wounded animal to the new year, this year seems to be the opposite. We’re bounding ahead on the calendar and everyday life is…
You Can’t Drive a Parked Car
Momentum is hard to come by sometimes. External circumstances, internal conflict, or a combination of the two often keep us in "park" when we should be "driving" in life. And I'm getting tired of it.
The Wisdom of Bob Ross for Writers
Bob Ross was much more than a source of painting entertainment. He was a fount of wisdom, much of which applies to writers...
There’s Power in Planning
Failure to plan well took a toll on my writing life in 2020. This proved to be a valuable lesson as I enter 2021.
That Was a Quite a Trip (Around the Sun)
Today my older daughter asked what I wanted to do about my birthday this year. She and her husband just bought their first home, so she wants to have us over for cake. I hadn’t given it much thought and…
The Best Advice For Dealing with Critics and Naysayers
Being a creative person requires a delicate emotional balancing act. We need a thick enough skin to shake off unconstructive criticism while exercising enough humility to be teachable and moldable. It’s been a long-term project for me to develop this…
Encouragement for the Weary from Literary Greats
So it’s only been three weeks of school, and I’m already overwhelmed as a parent and a teacher. The pandemic continues its disruption to education. I miss my students, friends, and family and just want life to be normal again.…
Unexpected Success is the Best Kind
Success sometimes show up unexpectedly. When it does, it's all the sweeter.
The Fatiguing Nature of Uncertainty
Life has been markedly different for the past six months in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Work, school, shopping, and socializing changed in ways nobody could have anticipated. With these changes comes stress and a looming uneasiness caused by the…
Step Back to Move Forward
June 2020 was a super-productive writing month for me. I logged over 10,000 words on my novel manuscript. Feeling energized by the progress, I made an even higher word count goal for July--a crazy big number.
