Funny thing happened to me this past weekend. I had planned a 10-day writing retreat by the ocean to pound out the edits for my literary novel that’s coming out next April. (Read more about Loreena’s Gift here.) The plans had been in the works for months. To accomplish theContinue Reading
While spending some time with my family recently, I had the pleasure of watching again the great movie, “Miss Potter,” about the life and writing career of children’s book author Beatrice Potter. I thought I remembered it quite well, but it’s been years since I first saw it, and IContinue Reading
At a recent conference, I was surprised to learn that creative burnout is common among writers. I was at the Aspen Summer Words Conference and had chance to meet award-winning author Hannah Tinti. I heard her speak on the final panel of the week and then asked her sign myContinue Reading
My older brother and I really enjoyed roller-skating when we were young kids (around seven to ten). We were lucky enough to have a nice rink in our town, and a mom who was willing to invest in opportunities for us. We both took lessons, but because we were threeContinue Reading
My mom has a great sense of humor. She can find a laugh in just about every situation. Rarely do I spend a day with her, or even have a conversation with her, that she doesn’t get me laughing about one thing or another. What a blessing that is. IContinue Reading
Are you suffering from writer’s guilt? If so, you may sometimes feel like you’re at war. You fight the battle every day between writing and the rest of your life. Sometimes writing wins. Sometimes life wins. Either way, you feel guilty. The emotion is so common in the writer’s worldContinue Reading
It’s not easy for writers to think big. We all get into our lives and our routines. With so much going on, we don’t even realize that our thinking has gradually diminished to the point where we see nothing but what’s in front of our noses. This happened to me,Continue Reading
If you’re an unhappy writer, you may think that writing isn’t for you. It’s possible—but it could be that you’re thinking about it the wrong way. Ask most writers what they dream about and you’ll probably get some variation of the SWD—Standard Writer’s Dream. It usually includes a book onContinue Reading
Are you suffering from the writing blahs? When you sit down to work, do you sigh deeply and resort to eating chocolates until your writing time is over? In other words, has it been awhile since the muse graced your doorstep? If so, it’s time to woo her back. BecauseContinue Reading
How’s it going with those New Year’s resolutions? Are you still working on them? Odds are, you aren’t—or it won’t be long before you forget about them. A study from the University of Scranton reported that just eight percent of people are successful in achieving their resolutions. If this isContinue Reading
When another human leaves your heart in an billion pieces, people get it. Friends are happy to help fuel a nice big bonfire, mostly with the ex’s photos. Family members reveal everything they didn’t like about the person to begin with. “You can find much better,” they assure you. ButContinue Reading
How are we as creative people to handle the fear and keep creating anyway?