Writing

The feelings that come like a flood when mothers face the impending empty nest are universal and timeless. Whether they have stayed at home, or have enjoyed rewarding careers, many mothers feel varying degrees of loss and confusion as their children head out into the world. Recently, I wrote about what it means to be a…

Writers must learn to suffer rejection. Personally, if I printed them all out, I’d have enough rejections to wallpaper my office—aaaand yours. I started writing when I was a child, and I’ll write as long as I’m able. It’s almost assured that my most-precious creations will never become best sellers or classics, but I’ll keep writing, or thinking…

Our local paper runs a column on history, and every morning, I like to review the notable events that happened on that date. Yesterday, I read that on April 21, 1977, Annie opened on Broadway, and its run totaled 2,377 performances. This started me on a path of Annie reminiscence, and it grew into this post. Annie in Poetry Many people…

A spouse’s passing devastates. A Widow’s Story, by Joyce Carol Oates, illustrates the first year after her husband, Raymond J. Smith, died on February 18, 2008. Oates was fortunate to have many devoted friends, but she still felt isolated and often overwhelmed by the weight of the estate and legacy of her beloved. Just two weeks…

Recently, I saw The Post, starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. The film centers on a damning Vietnam War study and Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham’s most-difficult decision in 1971. At the beginning of the film, I was confused by a Katharine Graham who was unsure of herself and reluctant to ruffle the feathers of her editors, advisors, and cronies…

1/28/2017 – Two Days Early – I’m a Winner (Word Count 54,130) Yes, it’s true. I’m officially a NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) winner. My official word count is 54,130. I felt the need to exceed 50,000 words, because I started with 3,874. What do I win? Bragging rights and a good feeling, mostly. Best Intentions is a story of…

I’ve decided that one post with periodic updates makes more sense from here forward in this NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) adventure.  It seems as though I might actually complete this thing! 11/25/2017 – After Thanksgiving Break, Back on Track  (Word Count 45,322) I’m not gonna lie, it was nice taking a two-day break from this project…

I decided it would probably be better to do these NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) updates at the end of the day, rather than the beginning. It’s too easy to get sidetracked before the writing has started. While these updates may be helpful for someone who’s thinking about doing NaNoWriMo, or informative for anyone who is kind…

Yesterday marked a great start to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I started with 3,874 words and ended with 6,549. That’s a word count for the day of 2,675. My goal was 2,000. It was amazing how easily the words were dripping from my fingers. This exercise is good for an English major who constantly feels…

After many years of having a profile on the NaNoWriMo site, conditions are finally right for me to participate in the 50,000-word novel challenge during the month of November. NaNoWriMo is a non-profit organization that sponsors the challenge in which almost 400,000 people participate and only around 34,000 complete. I hope that posting this will make me…