When the hell was I going to need to diagram a sentence in real life?
Apparently, some 25+ years later…
One of my critique partners happens to also be a line editor extraordinaire. She’s opened my eyes to relearning lessons I forgot. Now, I’m geeking out with nearly every submission coming back with at least a dozen errors. This time though, I’m paying attention and taking notes.
Read MoreOne of my writing buddies turned me on to Anton Chekhov while critiquing one of my projects. “Man, I was starting to sweat this character - if you didn’t use him soon I was gonna remind you about Chekhov’s Gun!”
When I first read about Chekhov’s Gun and learned how to apply it to my writing, I was relieved to find a formula that I could refer back to time and again. It’s become my go-to while critiquing others (I find more rule-breakers of this law than any other). Perhaps you’re as excited as I was (nerding out with all the new writing resources of information are but a google away). Congratulations! Now you’ve got your license in executing Chekhov’s theory.
So fire away - only figuratively speaking though. I’m a writer, not a militia starter!
Read MoreWhen I was in college, the biggest hype was Instant Messenger, dial-up internet was still a thing, and flip-phones were the iPhone of the times. I get it. I’m aging myself…But all I did was have a few kiddos and BAM! The social media outlets exploded. Now, I feel like my grandparents - and I’m not even old enough to BE a grandparent (based on my children’s ages anyway).
Read MoreI came across Delilah’s 10 Writing Mantras. At first, I scanned right past it. I wasn’t so sure her suggestions would apply to me - I’m not a sci-fi reader or writer. But some inkling in the back of my mind made me scroll back up and click to read the post in it’s entirety. And when I did, I immediately sat down and fleshed out this very blog. Here’s what I learned from her…
Read MoreWhen I started dabbling in the writing world, my oldest was in school five days a week, the middle two days, and the baby still taking a minimum of two naps a day. The writing-parenting balancing act was relatively easy. I could block out at least two hours a day to accomplish my set goals and still keep up with my “house duties” (cooking, cleaning, laundry, sleeping). Now, two of my older kiddos are in school five days a week and the youngest is only taking one nap a day. I should still be able to swing it all, right? Not so simple. I’ve found myself in even shorter slots of time where I can sit down, read, critique, write, and work on building my social media presence. Often I feel I’m in over my head.
Should I wait and pursue all this when the kids are grown and gone? But I’ve told countless friends with kids to embrace their dreams - it’s important to show you have ambitions too…
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