Typing those little words is a sad moment. Sure it’s an accomplishment. It means months of imagining, pondering, creating and general wood-burning are over and a story is finished. Even though I have a revision to do, my characters have come to their very happy ending. I’m cheering for them. Naturally. But I find I’m…
On the twelfth day of Christmas… Having tossed the original idea of the twelve days of Christmas away, I’m counting down the twelve days before Christmas to offer my gratitude for the people and things that make the writing life possible for me. Today it’s perspiration. I don’t know where I sweat more, during Zumba, or when…
Even though it’s complicated, a little wonky to use, and though it has more features than I need, I like what I get out of Scrivener.
And that is….order.
On the fifth day of Christmas… Even though those twelve days are supposed to start on December 25 and run to Epiphany, Jan. 6, I want to offer my gratitude for the people and things that make the writing life possible for me. Today, I’m celebrating my family—and yours. Are you a writer? If you…
November is over. Already a hectic month–besides Thanksgiving, I have a hundred million leaves in my yard and a small sailboat that has got to get out of the water before the winter winds blow in. So what do I do? Spend plenty of waking hours attempting to write 50,000 words as part of a…
Just ordered all of these from the bookstore of the Historical Novel Society. Lots of historic fiction, natch!, but a couple of how-tos, too. I can’t wait to dig in. Maybe I got a little crazy when I went to the bookstore during the Historical Novel Society but I’d “met” all these great writers and…
When I recorded Divided Loyalties, he read it twice. The second time, he said he was reading a book by his favorite author.
“C’mon, Rex.” Like I have to prod him to hurry after Monster.
We race around the corner where a woman wearing an Old Bay mask is picking up the little creature.
It’s Jessica. My heart gets a workout like nothing it’s experienced before. It pounds out a tune before rising with joy when she looks up at me and smiles.
“Look what I found. This little kitten ran right into my arms.”
Smart cat. Exactly what I wish I could do. I stop about ten feet away. I don’t know if I should get any closer to the woman who isn’t speaking to me.
Life with Lori hasn’t been rosy the past few days. She’s tired of school by computer and more days than not, I’ve found her playing under the dining room table rather than finishing her homework. I’ve had to sit with her through the few sessions Mrs. Gambino can manage. Poor teacher. She’s still teaching her students how to mute and unmute themselves. And fewer show up each day. Yesterday, five showed up for her social studi
That’s my list of five essential things. I wonder…what five things do you need in your creative life?
Mary K. Tilghman, writer 