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Dancing in the Stream: a Meditation on Yup’ik Eskimo Dancing
Starting in 1989 I taught in a remote Yup’ik Eskimo and Athabascan Indian Villages in Alaska. I have been working on a memoir about those years for over half a decade. I sometimes refer to my time in...
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Why Hire an Editor?
Reblogged from Catherine, Caffeinated: Let me count the ways I have tried to get the point across that you—yes, YOU—need an editor: I've said so in my book, I've made a video, I've told you why I...
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Carve Out Writing Time & Guard it Like a Zealot… Until It’s Time to Make...
The title pretty much sums up my week. I worked for days, banking time to free up this last Thursday and Friday for working on the book. “Only two chapters to go. How hard could it be?” I won’t tell …...
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Writing Truth and Memory in Memoir
image courtesy goodreads There is truth and falsehood in a comma. -Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love As a memoirist and writing instructor, I am often asked and often ask …...
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Morning Writing
Morning, for writers holds so much promise. It’s more than that the blank slate of the day before you representing the potential of the page. For me it’s also the energy of the promise. There is...
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The Computer Stays Home!
“Does Madonna walk around the house in cone bras and come-bleep-me bustiers?” -Steven Pressfield -photo credit: Brandon Carson Not only does Pressfield have the art of the hook down, he’s got a point...
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Wild! Finding your book in a bookstore
“What section of the bookstore do you want to find your book in?” At a recent book conference, this question was raised by book publishing specialists Arielle Eckstut and David Sterry (authors of The...
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What the Blueprint Your Bestseller Process Looks Like
This week I am throes of the writing process… .Writing and marketing coach friend Windy Lynne Harris of the Backstory Cafe at http://thebackstorycafe.wordpress.com set me on fire with Stuart Horwitz’s...
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Follow-up On Blueprint Your Best Seller
Where did we leave off? Don’t let the Brandy snifter in the last post about Blueprinting Your Bestseller fool you. I’ve been busy… well, busy not writing. But preparing to write… . During the holidays...
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Undressing Scene, Down to the Bones
I’m turning my decades-old process of writing, upside down. Having had the privilege of working with writing groups for a number of years, I tended to rely on writing something based on our meeting...
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Scene Revision Sample: Meeting Dog Musher Willie George
Frankly, writers are nuts. Who else would spend an hour revising a page? But, that’s what my measurement was last week in revising this story I’ve tinkered with over the years. I’ve certainly...
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Stripping Away Front Story to Get to the Back… Story
Other than a popular murder mystery series written by Robert B. Parker and part of great website by Windy Lynn Harris backstory can be described largely as: “a story that tells what led up to the main...
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Writing Market Readiness Tip: Categorize and Log Your Material
Writing a book is an exercise in delayed gratification. Especially the way I did it— –without stopping to publish excerpts or any related stories, which means I spent a whole lotta time on my craft and...
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The Color Red: Sex and Symbols in a Literary Reading of Olive Kitteridge
The color red has long been used across cultures and time to symbolize love, lust, sexuality and intimacy. Author Elizabeth Strout delicately, almost imperceptively weaves the color red throughout her...
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Desert Nights Rising Stars ASU Writing Conference Moment
Been busy making writing connections. Perhaps a post about writing conferences is due later this week. This tweet and photo by writer Kevin S. Moul, official Piper House Photographer. Pictured: Renee...
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Ways to Get Unstuck: From Writers Block to Inspired Creative Flow
Do you have a writing practice that works for creating first draft pages? Many components make up a writing practice. But one thing I’ve ascribed to this past several months is the setting of goals and...
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My Writing Process
Tag, you’re it! Luanne my friend and writing partner has tagged me to write about my writing process. If you get a chance check out her blog at writersite.org. This author and former professor blogs...
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The Fault in Our Stars – A Literary Peek at Death Personified
Despite having once shared an evening with actor Willem DaFoe, I still think I would find his confounding and curmudgeonly character Peter van Houten, the most fascinating character in The Fault in Our...
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Elizabeth Gilbert on How to Summon Your Creative Muses & Curiosity vs Passion
“At least put a bra on… .” And, “…don’t show up at your writing desk in your pajamas… ” Elizabeth Gilbert advised writers and other creatives at this month’s reading in Arizona. “A lot of people...
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Writing Books & Work-in-Progress Blog Tour
This post features sneak peaks at bloggers behind-the-scenes book projects starting with Luanne at Writersite.org then Renee (me) at unpackedwriter.com and ends tagging other writer-bloggers:...
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