I had the honor of attending The Writer's Hotel Conference in NYC last week along with about 75 other writers of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. I attended workshops, lectures, and genre labs. This year marks the fifth year of the conference. I received a whole manuscript critique from the directors, Shanna McNair and Scott Wolven … Continue reading The Writer’s Hotel Conference
This month, we will sell our house and move into another, smaller house. Part of the reason we are selling, the part we usually tell people, is that with my son going to college in the fall, this house is simply too big. That much is mostly true, even though that space is frequently filled with … Continue reading The grind
I attended the 2018 AWP Conference in Tampa. I had not been to an AWP Conference since the one in Chicago in 2012, but now I can say with confidence that the conference is a bit too much for me. There are over 12,000 attendees, so I did of course see old friends, both peers … Continue reading AWP 2018
Things I have not done today: Bathed Changed out of my pajamas Prepared for my interview on Thursday Things I have done today: Finished a short story Guzzled four cups of coffee and two cups of tea Read a poem by Mary Oliver Started to read Mr. Bridge by Evan S. Connell Made several batches of … Continue reading A successful day
Words are clunky, character's voices inauthentic, stories banal. I have four stories in progress--one that might be an erotic novella, one flash fiction, two others with opening paragraphs that are promising but going nowhere. I know this stasis, this floundering, this ennui is a common problem when writers finish a major project, but that does … Continue reading False starts
It's been a while since I've posted. I finished the novel around Thanksgiving, and although there are things I still want to change, transitions and scenes I want to tweak, sentences I want to polish a little more, I sent my book baby off into the world. Despite the urge to continue manipulating and recreating, … Continue reading It’s a wrap
I wrote this last month but neglected to publish it. Today was my son's first day of his senior year of high school. We completed his first two applications to college this week -- one school is five hours away in Memphis, TN the other over six hours away in Charleston, SC. Soon, very soon, only … Continue reading Empty nests, full lives
