I’m often asked what it’s like to be a writer — how I spend my days, how I experience the world. And so I will be sharing occasional essays from the front lines of my writing life. Enjoy! So, there I am, roaming the exhibit hall of the BlogHer conference, my complimentary canvass bag overflowing with … Actually, I don’t know what half the stuff is, other than it’s free. Exhibitors with hopeful faces keep […]
I’m often asked what it’s like to be a writer — how I spend my days, how I experience the world. And so I will be sharing occasional essays from the front lines of my writing life. Enjoy! I am not always kind. I can be grouchy and not yield to merging traffic. I don’t call my mother as often as I should and don’t always thank supermarket baggers. I kill ants and find flaws […]
Blogging a book works two ways: You can blog an existing book by breaking it into posts, be they chapters, sections or excerpts. You can write your book as you go, one post a time. The post can be a chapter, section or excerpt (e.g., one poem or short story). A great blogged book is unique even if its premise is not original. Take diet books: thousands have been written about losing weight, but that’s because […]
Yesterday I woke with a warm heart. Do you know what I mean? You get out of bed without thinking you’re not good enough, that, yeah, you look in the mirror and your hair’s a mess and you really should exercise, but that you’re okay anyway. One of those days when you lay claim to 80 percent of yourself and say, “Not bad. I can work with this.” When I wake/feel 80 percent, I care […]
I’m often asked what it’s like to be a writer — how I spend my days, how I experience the world. And so I will be sharing occasional essays from the front lines of my writing life. Enjoy! My wonderful and very glamorous Aunt Anita passed away on Thanksgiving day. She was in her early 80s. I couldn’t make it out to Las Vegas to say goodbye, but I wrote this letter to her, which […]
I’m often asked what it’s like to be a writer — how I spend my days, how I experience the world. And so I will be sharing occasional essays from the front lines of my writing life. Enjoy! So here I am at the cosmetics store Sephora with my 20-year-old daughter, Jenna, who has brought me here to get a new look. “What’s wrong with my look?” I want to ask, but I know better because she’ll tell me. I’m […]
I’m often asked what it’s like to be a writer — how I spend my days, how I experience the world. And so I will be sharing occasional essays from the front lines of my writing life. Enjoy! We cry out from the get-go. It is our very first act of being. We go from fluid warm darkness into a bright, sharp world filled with sounds and smells and warm hands on bodies we do […]
I’m often asked what it’s like to be a writer — how I spend my days, how I experience the world. And so I will be sharing occasional essays from the front lines of my writing life. Enjoy! Guilt. To be a mother is to suffer from it. But how much suffering is enough? Take this quiz and find out. Simply the circle the responses that best apply to you. Question #1 — While shopping at […]
I’m often asked what it’s like to be a writer — how I spend my days, how I experience the world. And so I will be sharing occasional essays from the front lines of my writing life. Enjoy! College. February. Best friend’s birthday party in a Chinese restaurant in downtown Binghamton, New York. Huge oval table and Madge is assigning seats. I see a cute guy sitting at the far end of table. I lean […]
Here’s a recap of some great Web links I’ve posted on Facebook. New ones go up on Thursdays, so “Like” Write Directions. And don’t forget to subscribe to Write Directions’ monthly newsletter, which also lists resources for writers, in addition to original articles, publishing info, inspirational quotations, etc. Wattpad Here is a fun way to help grow your platform: Share your work in serialized form with readers from all over the world. Oh-So-Common English Errors […]
I just found this essay in one of my laptop folders. Although I wrote it a few years back, it still holds true. (FYI: Evil Child is my older daughter, Julia.) So, there we were in the kitchen, watching Hubby Joe open his Father’s Day gifts. Jenna, 17, gave him a month’s cable subscription to the Tennis Channel. Julia, 25, baked him cupcakes. I got him underwear. Julia looked at the underwear and said: “Is this... Read more.
