Heart Discipline

Another favorite writer o' mine is Anne Ortlund. How I have forgotten to mention her, I will never know. She also wrote me a really sweet note once, so I love her a little more than I would an ordinary writer. Here is my favorite (long!) quote from her book, Disciplines of the Heart.


"No more drifting, wandering, doubting, complaining, living in confusion.

Don't let anyone judge you (Col 2:16.)

Don't let anyone disqualify you (Col 2:18.)

Don't let anyone deter you (Mark 9:39a.)

Don't let anyone detract you from your goal (James 1:4.)

God has made you alive in Christ (Col 2:13), and you have been given fullness in him (Col 2:10).

He is a shield around you...(Psalm 3:3.)


Then, from your stance in Christ, produce! Achieve! GOFORIT!


Perhaps you will become so focused, so concentrated, your sunbeam will narrow to a laser beam. People like this become the geniuses, the prophets, the ones with the maximum intensity of power to affect. Open yourself wide to whatever He desires. Behold the (servant) of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."

See ya'll Monday! Have a great (holiday here in the US) weekend!

Funny Kids

I see myself having this conversation in a few years.



From Me:
I am teaching my big kid how to read, so we read everything together. This includes his sister's t-shirts. Yesterday, her shirt said, "My brother did it." I had to explain it, but he laughed for a long time.


Then, he said this: "Mom, it would be really funny if you had a shirt that said, "My husband did it." The boy learns quickly.

OK. Here are stories from my friends.

From Keri:

Tonight we were heading upstairs to give the kids a bath and I told Rachel which bathroom we were going to use and she said, "Well, I hope you know where the light is because I couldn't find it earlier and on Outrigger Island (a VBS she attended this summer) it says that the Bible lights the way so I took my Bible in there, but it didn't work!"After laughing out loud for a minute, we clarified what exactly "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path," means. The Bible isn't a flashlight. So funny.

And From Rachel (a different Rachel, duh):

The morning started all right enough. Ate breakfast, made the kids clean their rooms, waited until 9 a.m. for Sadie to wake up so we could go get haircuts. I was sitting on the couch reading and I heard Ernie (the dog) grunting like he was struggling. I went back to Ben's room only to find Ernie ON BEN'S BED, struggling with something. I hollered at Ernie to get down (because he's not supposed to be on furniture) and I see that a yellow nylon/polyester blend sash from a ninja costume is suspiciously trailing behind Ernie. Can you see where this is going? Ben had tied up Ernie's two right legs and left him on the bed. Why? "I don't know, Mom! I forgot about him!" "Why would you tie him up?!" "I thought it would be funny." Tied up the dog and left him on the bed. I suppose it's no worse than calf/goat/hog tying in the rodeo arena, although they do tend to let them go and not make them pull a Houdini and figure it out themselves.

Got a funny story?

Something Amazing Happens

photo by Jamilyn

In my high school Sunday School class, we've been discussing prayer. Specifically, praying when it's hard.

We've been talking about those lost causes: helpless souls that you are just too tired to keep praying for. Slowly, they begin to drift to the bottom of the list and then off the list all together.

I asked the students to write five names on an index card as a reminder to pray. My high school kids are young (obviously), and sheltered (maybe), because most of them could not think of five names. I have known enough lost causes to fill out a card for each of them.

But I always forget. I give up on people after a few weeks or months.

"I may pray for a season and then forget as other requests fill my lists, but that doesn't mean God forgets. He adds my prayers to the prayers of other saints, some of whom may have picked up the ball after I stopped praying. Together we pray these people through to the deliverance, healing, redemption, and restoration that God intends for them."

-Christy Tennant "God Never Forgets" Discipleship Journal J/A 2008

Then. Yet. Still.

Sometimes, something amazing happens.

Plums and Poetry

This Is Just To Say

by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

1. This is the first poem I fell in love with.

2. This was the first time I understood that in writing, less is more.

3. This was the first time I saw a specific image from a poem.

4. This was the first poem I memorized.

5. This was the first time I really, really wanted a plum.

6. This was the first time I wanted to TAKE something from SOMEBODY just to say a few lines of poetry.

Freelance Life: It's writing week at Anne and May. Check it out!

Affair to Remember v. Dirty Dozen

Keri, this blog's for you!


Do you want to know my favorite part of this Sleepless in Seattle scene? It's the empty chair next to Rita Wilson's character. It's just a reminder that somebody is missing in this group. Tom Hank's son is in the scene, but he never sits in that chair. And also? The way she really needs a buddy to back her up!

So, why do girls love this movie? First of all, it's based on an Affair to Remember, so it has a few decades of movie history to make it worthwhile.

Second, Tom Hanks (hello!) is a single dad, so we have the awwww factor. Who wouldn't want to step in and rescue these two lonely people? We love to rescue.

Third, it's illogical and magical and wonderful! Who throws away a perfectly good fiance to fly to New York to meet a total stranger? Not us! But we love that Meg Ryan did.

Finally, it's really funny. It's got enough guy scenes to drag that-certain-somebody to see it with us. Ya know...once.

This freelance life: The website? Almost ready? Not so much! This THIRD version is also a disaster. I think I need professional help! Now that the Olympics are over, I've got my 8-11 schedule free again, so it's back to the daily grind!

Why do you love Sleepless?

Geepers, Sweepers!

One of my favorite hobbies, if I am shameless enough to call it that, is entering sweepstakes! I am a closet "sweeper." If you want to read about some great prizes, check out this article about sweepstakes winners!

Ya know, every so often you watch a news story, like the one above, about some crazy lady in fly-over country who has spent half her life in Europe thanks to winning contests. I knew that couldn't ALL be fake stories because a friend won a cruise once. I decided, if they could do it, I could do it!

"What have you won?" you ask? Well, um... not much. I won a Tide t-shirt and stain pen. Hanes sent a pair of unmentionables. I got a ton of free samples in the mail. And... wait for it... wait for it...AN X-BOX 360 ELITE!

I totally quit while I was on top. I'll let you guys take over for me. Here are my rules for winning at sweepstakes.

10. Be prepared for a lot of junk mail.

9. Never pay anyone for any contest entry. Ever.

8. Check out http://www.slickdeals.net/ and click Forums, and then Contests & Sweepstakes.

7. Don't mess with Publisher's Clearinghouse. They also have a warehouse full of people working forty hours a week gaining other "entries." The odds are not in your favor.

6. Try creative contests like essay contests or video entry contests. Most people don't bother, so your chances are greater!

5. Read about.com here for more "how to win" info.

4. Set up an e-mail account just to handle all your new spam. Also, you have to check this account once in a while to see if you won anything.

3. You can't win if you don't enter.

2. Don't enter contests for stuff you don't want, can't use, or won't sell.

1. After you start winning, thanks to all this helpful information, you must share your loot with me!

Run Away!

Have you guys ever tried to run from God? How'd that work out for ya? Here is my favorite singer with my new favorite song. Where was I when this came out?


Remember "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing?"
"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love."

I googled (verbify, bro!) "running from God" and every option was about Jonah. I love Jonah. I sympathize with him. I think we have very similar personalities.

God said, "Go and Do!" and Jonah said, "No thanks!"

There's not much of a sermon here. I just wish it would stop.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence? (Psalm 139:7)

This Time of Year

I have always been very confused about the seasons. Each year, in August, my friend Keri calls and asks, "Are you pulling out sweaters?" She is already laughing before she hears my answer because she knows what it will be. She keeps trying to tell me that I do not need sweaters until October (if even then!), but it's now a habit.

If Autumn begins in September, you have to get ready for fall in August, right?

Wrong. Here, fall is still months away.

We haven't had any rain here for weeks and weeks, so all the leaves are changing colors and falling off the trees. This is no little thrill. I have had the windows open for two days. I stopped watering my trees so they could turn colors early, too. I started cooking with the crock-pot again. I have visions of bonfires, smores, and apple cider.

Tonight, watching the moon, one bright cloud and three distant stars, I fell asleep on the back porch, dreaming of the months to come.

This Time Of Year : by Better Than Ezra
Well, there's a feeling in the air
just like a Friday afternoon.
yeah, you can go there if you want
though it fades too soon.

so go on, let it be.
if there's a feeling coming over me,
seems like it's always understood this time of year.

well, i know there's a reason to change.
well, i know there's a time for us.
you think about the good times
and you live with all the bad.
you can feel it in the air,
feeling right this time of year.

well, there's a football in the air,
across a leaf blown field.
yeah, and there's your first car on the road,
and the girl you'd steal.

so go on with yourself
if there's a feeling that there's something else.
seems like it's always understood
this time of year.

well, i know there's a reason to change.
well, i know there's a time for us.
you think about the good times
and you live with all the bad.
you can feel it in the air,
feeling right this time of year.

well, there's a feeling in the air
just like a Friday afternoon.
yeah, you can go there if you want
though it fades too soon.

so go on, let it be.
if there's a feeling coming over me,
seems like it's always understood this time of year.

well, i know there's a reason to change.
well, i know there's a time for us.
you think about the good times
and you live with all the bad.
you can feel it in the air,
feeling right this time of year

Inklings

If you have never heard of the Inklings, it is time for you to meet them here. This fabulousness included C.S. Lewis, his brother Warren Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Dr. R.E. Havard, and Charles Williams. Other attenders included Nevill Coghill, Hugo Dyson, Owen Barfield, and Adam Fox.

Now my writer's group does not have the benefit of an Oxford pub, but we do have an occasional coffee house. Caffeine helps you think better than beer, anyway.

But I've got to tell you, I love my writer's group more than any old stuffy English guys.

When I got my first acceptance letter, they were so awesome, of course, but so different. I heard, "You da bomb!" from one. And another said, "I am so delighted to see God working through your hands." Different as night and day.

We have teenagers and moms of teenagers. We have fantasy and young adult and literary stories all going on at once. We are so different, but I think that's what we love about each other.

We encourage "us" to get our act together when a little too much life took over the writing time during the week.

And honestly, who else would tell you that perhaps that troubled band of circus performers does not belong in that love story? Or never, never under any circumstances, should your main character be called Percy Pinkwater.

I have days when I never get anything done, but that never happens the day before writer's group! There is nothing like a deadline from your peers to make you perform under pressure.

And, like your high school garage band, we keep changing our name. For a while we were the Coffee Shop Writer's Guild (until we got kicked out of the coffee shop.) So, for now, we are the Stinklings.

LIAR! LIAR! LLIIIIIIAAAAARRRRRRR!

Sometimes, I lie. I am trying to stop. No, I am stopping.

No, I stopped! Past tense.

So, in full disclosure and confession to all of my closest BFL friends, I am admitting all.

First, here are my three favorite movie lies all in one place. Awesome.


To my dental hygienist when she asks: How often do you floss?"

To my children: "I AM listening. Please continue."

To my parents: "No, that didn't scar me for life. Don't be silly."

To myself: "These fourteen Oreos can't be THAT bad for me."

To anybody who asks how many times I've seen The Princess Bride.

To golfers: "I like to watch golf." This is not true. I watch Tiger Woods. I sleep during all the rest.

To rude people who still ask, "Who are you voting for?" Answer, "I don't know yet."

Who do you lie to? Leave a comment and let us know!
Write on!

Work It Out!

Everybody's talking at me...about the workout! It must be all that Olympics flying around the air. My favorite exercise is walking; I think that may be as sedentary as one can get and still be technically working out. Also, I have to go alone! It's the only way to clear my head. Here are some of my favorite workouts on the web this week.

Here is Slate's "Human Guinea Pig," Emily Yoffee talking about becoming a gym rat.

Here is May Vanderbilt talking about her Weight Watchers and new Wii Fit.

Here is Arthur Spooner's workout.



And, if you are feeling ambitious, here are eleven Olympic athletes with great routines to follow.

What is your routine? The gym? Running? Synchronized Swimming? Leave a comment and let me know!

Work it out!

Write on!

Teach Your Children Well...

Old school Mark Lowry! You know you've missed him.


I am teaching today! It is stuff I've taught before to kids I already know, but not these particular subjects and students together. I still get nervous about standing in front of them. Plus, last semester I yelled at them in PE; today, I have to teach them semicolons. Don't you wish you could be there too? I'm yawning just thinking about it! (That's a lie. I love grammar. I don't, however, admit that to just ANYBODY.)

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." That's Proverbs 22:6. Lately, I've heard it explained that this verse means to train a child in the way he "is" and shape them based on who they are already becoming. As in, help your little engineer by buying tinker toys or arguing with your little lawyer. By arguing, of course, I mean teaching them to argue in a respectful manner. Any Hebrew scholars out there?

I'll never forget those teachers. My eighth grade reading teacher, Mrs. Dixon, called me out into the hall one day. I was shaking like a leaf! She handed me a copy of Writer's Digest, and said this. "Bethany, I saw this magazine in the bookstore yesterday, and I thought of you." It was the first time a person told me of a gift and asked me to use it. I still think of that day as a sign on the freeway of my life.

Or the day my parents found a poem and asked if I had any more of them around. I had bunches, and they read them all! (Now that I look back on it, they might have just been spying on their high schooler's internal thoughts... hmm.) I won't lie. My poetry is bad. B-A-D BAD! But they asked me to write more.

Skip ahead through a mediocre music career...

In my freshman year of college, I was majoring in music and totally lost. I asked Mrs. Rittenberry if she thought I could MAKE IT as a writer. (Pending three more years of English classes, of course.)

She said, after a long pause that meant "No," "Yes." And that was all it took. I knew she had her doubts. But she was kind enough to see that on that day, I really needed a "yes." I just needed one more "professional" opinion to guide me on the way.

There have been a few detractors as well. Like that guy, old enough to be my teacher, I had just met at a wedding reception who said, "You're too young. What do you know about life? You can't be a writer!"

Or the stack of rejection letters in this filing cabinet.

Or that little voice in my head.

But it's too late now. I am hooked.

Did anybody ever put you on a path you never left?

Where you from, anyway?

This conversation has been the bane of my existence. You'll have to imagine the utter disdain and unsmiling face on the imaginary speaker:
"Where you FROM, ANYWAY?"

This is my conversation, verbatim, from Wal-Mart today. The parenthesis are unspoken words.

Him: (Man staring intently at my checkout items.)
Me: (Feeling uncomfortable for my groceries' lack of privacy.)
Him: What is that there OR-GAN-IC milk?
Me: (Imagine me explaining, though slightly surprised that one still has to explain these things. The cashier also helped explain.)
Him: Is that like milk straight from the cow?
Me: Yes.
Him: Well, let me ask you this. Does it have cream on top?
Me: (Pausing to decide if I wanted to explain the benefits of low-fat dairy.)
Me: Um, no.
Him: When I was growing up, our milk always had THAT MUCH (holding up fingers) cream on top.
Me: Hm.
Him: Now that was REAL milk from the cow.
Me: (Wondering if I still need to defend my purchase.)
Him: At least I'M FROM TENNESSEE (emphasis, his), so I know how these things should be.
Cashier and Man: (Looking at me, wondering if I'm going to defend my state of birth.)
Me: (sigh)

I am from Tennessee too! My parents, bless them, were both English teachers from states not-southern. I inherited their accents. Now, I can slide me into some "Tennessee Hills" when I need to, but it's not very "me." I really only use to to show off when someone believes I can't. (Also, I write with "y'all" because English does not have a plural second person pronoun! Still bugs me. May also use youse guys, you guys, or y'uns. But I digress.)

My first day of school was in second grade. I was home-schooled until then by the Michigan-bred, pseudo-hippie Mom.
2nd graders: "Where you FROM, ANYWAY?"
Me: Here
2nd graders: Nooooo, where were you born?
Me: Here.
2nd graders: NO, WHAT HOSPITAL WERE YOU BORN IN?
Me: The same one you were born in!

Outsider status imprinted from day 1.

I once worked for a failed politician. He asked me to catalogue all his campaign clippings and newspaper articles. He never could figure out why he lost, but reading through the stories of his debates, I knew instantly. The turning point in the debate? An audience member stood up and shouted, "Where you FROM, ANYWAY?" Poor guy. Never stood a chance.

My dad got his Master's in Southern Literature. The favorite new term of southern writers is "New South." It is the Atlanta where it is easier to find sushi than fried chicken. It is the North Carolina known for being a technological powerhouse, not tobacco road. In the New South, no one asks, "Where you from?" when you aren't vouched for by four generations of gravestones next to the Baptist church.

The "New South" didn't feel very new to me today.
Where YOU from?

Ashley Paige: Bikini or Bust

I didn't even know how to spell "bikini" before I started this post. (Not exaggerating.) I was never allowed to wear them. When I got old enough to decide about my own wardrobe, I decided "ta not to." There is no reason that I should like this show. But like it, I do!

Her business is a mess. Her mom is a mess. Her store is a mess. She is always broke. She can never afford to pay for parking, more or less her employees. She draws Tarot Cards every day before work. She has a Life Coach! Frankly, it's a train wreck.
I must identify with her fear of success, her messiness, her total inability to hold on to money. Her new facialist offered her "grace and ease" to find money for a treatment she couldn't afford. "I need some hardcore grace and ease, or some more Australians, if I'm going to find THAT kind of money." Who talks like that?
This Freelance Life: Just as I was ready to give up (again), I got an acceptance letter today! Did a little dance, don't mind to tell ya. And, last week, I cashed my first writing check. I almost framed it, but I decided my bank account needed that check more than a frame did.
What is your favorite TLC show? Any guilty pleasure train wrecks?
P.S. Everybody voted for Facebook! Check out this Slate Article about friendfeed. It combines everybody on one page! It is the answer!

I haven't even made it to LinkedIn yet...

It started with my friend Keri. "You should get on Facebook." I am pretty sure this phone conversation didn't even start with a "hello." "You. Will. LOVE IT!"

It's just for kids, though, right? I successfully avoided it for nearly two months, but then my friend Danielle spoke of SCRABBLE. Offer me a board game, and I am in! Within 24 hours, I had formed an addiction.

It has games. It has friends from high school, college, church, and work. It has friends of my friends and friends of my parents! Hmm, thought I. If it was cool enough for me, it had to be not-cool with the 18-and-under crowd.

Last week, I decided that if I was going to write for teenagers, I should have a Myspace account too. Networking with my audience, you know. Well, on Myspace, I found my college-crush-cutie, one groovy friend, and um, that's it. It is a teenage hangout, for sure, because I couldn't find any of my friends there!

This freelance life: The website! It's coming! Get Ready!!

Which do you like, Facebook or Myspace? Want to be my friend?

Write on!

I'm a Fan! She's a Winner!

This is a lot of name dropping, so stay with me!

Remember when I told you about Carolyn See's writing plan? I know, I know... you've slept, yadda yadda. Here's a brief overview. First, Write 1,000 words a day. Also, write one charming note a day. That's it, the grand plan. I don't always do it, but it is a wonderful goal, because it gets wonderful results! Sometimes, these faceless names write back!

Today, I got the best note from Lauren Winner! I am so excited. I am just a huge fan of hers. I am always buying magazines that she writes for, looking for her byline. As cheap as I am, I even bought her book, instead of borrowing it, because I wanted to support her.

If an author meant something to you, tell him/her! Even if they laugh at your ridiculous stationery and toss it into the trash, you will know that you did your part to tell someone that they made a difference in your life.

When I am rich and famous, I will still be this huge FANATIC over other writers. So, next time you read an article you like, look up the author. Follow their career around. Buy the book. Write a charming note! Be a fan!

Day Lilies

from "Day Lilies" by Elaine Neil Orr

Published in Image #54



"Tell me I've won something."

"Tell me I've been selected."

"Tell me I've been chosen for an award."

She was not speaking to her father or even to God.

The week before, walking on the Raleigh Greenway - a wooded corridor that ran through the city - she had confided to a friend, who happened to be a Jungian analyst, that she often made such pleas aloud in her empty house.

"Yesterday I said to myself, 'I will go mad if someone does not call in the next forty-five minutes to tell me I have been chosen for a special recognition.'"

The friend laughed and said, "I love how you talk. I just love it. You say what other people think."

She thought her friend exaggerated. Surely most people did not speak aloud in their homes, pleading for a phone call conveying the news that though they had not applied for a grant, they were being awarded one.

-------------

This is why we read fiction. We read fiction to feel connected, not alone. We read to have that moment when we say, "Yes! I do this too! Finally, someone understands!"

Yes, it is an escape. But more than that: it is art, a search for truth. It is a search for God, the ultimate truth.

So, yes. I do this too. I furiously check my email every hour hoping to get acceptance letters for articles I haven't written, grants I haven't applied for, contests I haven't entered. It's nice to be un-alone in this. This is a another part of my love of free stuff, my wanting something for nothing.
Why do you blog? Do you find yourself in what other people say? Why do you read fiction?

Also, Would Have Accepted Snakes

My favorite TV writing: The (American) Office. I am absolutely obsessed.

I will just share a few Office quotes I learned today. Thank you, TBS! Enjoy.

"So, I feel like I have a lot to learn from you, even though you are younger and have less experience." - Andy

"He's always up in my bidness, which is Ebonics for being in my face and annoying the bageesus out of me." - Michael

"Here it is, heart of New York City, Times Square... named for the good times you have when you're in it." - Michael

"Yeah, Ryan snapped at me. But there was this tinkle in his eye, that I picked up on, which said, 'Dude, we're friends. I'm doing this for appearances. I am the big boss now. And I have to seem like an ogre. But you know me, and you trust me and we like each other. And we'll always be friends. And I would never take you for granted in a million years. And I miss you, man, and I love you... His words." - Michael

Michael Scott:
Okay. Wendy. "Hot and juicy redhead." I'll give this a try. [dials number]
Woman:
Wendy.
Michael Scott:
Hello, Wendy. This is Kevin's friend, Michael.
Woman:
This.. isn't Wendy.
Michael Scott:
Oh I'm sorry could you put her on please.
Woman:
Dude, this is a Wendy's restaurant.
Michael Scott:
Okay.. Okay. Could I just have a Frosty and a baked potato please.
Woman:
You have to come to the restaurant to order food.
Michael Scott:
Well I'll send somebody to pick it up. Just have it ready.
Woman:
It's ready now.
Michael Scott:
Well put it aside. [hangs up phone]

Bring the Rain

If you read my mail or saw the books borrowed from the library yesterday, I think you would be scratching your head. (Insert floating question mark.) Here is the random stuff we subscribe to.

Discipleship Journal (Jesus)
Lucky (shopping)
Fortune (Fortune)
Money (Money)
Golf Digest, Golf, and Golf World (Not mine, obviously!)
Tabletalk (Jesus)
Home Companion (Art and Home and Mary Englebreit)
Writer's Digest (writing)
O (Oprah)

Besides spending an inordinate amount of our income on magazines, what could you tell about us? Hopefully, that we love Jesus. I don't really like to shop, but the commercial said it was for me! ("If you love to shop, or even if you hate to shop, Lucky is the magazine for you!" I believed it. Commercials never lie.) I think it would also say I am a little too obsessed with money! Two magazines devoted to this! I am really in the wrong profession. I fully intend to be a starving artist for at least another year!

Now, the library books. The Plague of Doves is by Louise Erdrich. She is a genius and my favorite writer and a National Book Award Finalist. Really depressing, literary, fabulous stuff!

I also got Writing Romances and a Cup of Comfort. This is my back-up plan: write cheesy essays and romance novels just to make money. (See above magazine problem.) I mean, everybody has to start somewhere. Might as well cut my teeth on something little, right? The problem is that I doubt Louise Erdrich spent a year of her life on a romance novel. If I could crank one out in three months, would it be worth it? It feels souless and wrong and against everything I have learned in this artsy, bookish, freelance life. And I still want to do it.

Our sermon this week even talked about this. Synopsis: If you believed God has called you to do something, don't waste time on a back-up plan. Do you not believe He has called you? Do you not believe He will allow you to work on what He has given you to do? Hmm...

Completely unrelated: I got nothing, nothing done yesterday because I was sobbing and reading Bring the Rain. You can read it here: http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/ It was written by Angie Smith. Her husband is in the band Selah. It is the story of their daughter Audrey Caroline. Click on the link on the left to read the story from the beginning. Also, get tissues.
Write on!

Desordenado de Oficina

This freelance life:

I've started taking Rachel's advice. I'm writing on a schedule now, every night from eight until eleven. It is a little difficult to get dishes done, baths finished, and teeth brushed by such an early hour, but it is been worth the struggle! I announced the hours to the family and they have been great at giving me that time.

My home office: I wish I could share a picture, but it's just too awful. My one-year-old is just learning to walk. Her favorite new activity is opening drawers. Do you know how many papers a writer can accumulate? I have magazines, and contracts, and invoices, and research... all out my drawers and onto the floor! Must buy locking filing cabinets!

On a personal note, my dear, dear friend is moving to Spain today. I am really happy for her, but sad for me! It must have translated to my work... my main character just lost a friendship.

So, this brings me to my question of the day. What was friendship like when you were fourteen? Did you have a close friend? Do you lose a friend (by moving, dying, or fickle teenage friendship craziness?)

Stop dreaming. Start Doing.

Write on!

Art of Brevity

Shout OUT! Lorissa got it right! Verbify. Turning a noun into a verb. "I have to Fedex this."


"Broadly speaking, short words are best, and the old words, when short, are the best of all." - Winston Churchill
In honor of Winston, this will be a short post. I have a "job" today. A yard sale!!! Remember, it's a patchwork, put-together freelance life. Makin' money where I can!


"Baby Steps" by Bill O'Hanlon
"Most people can write about 250 words, in five minutes. That's about one page of a double-spaced manuscript. Do that every day for a year and you'll have a book."
From the February 2008 Writer's Digest


My Freelance Life: I'm writing an article for our local paper. No income, but I need clips.
Soul Crushing Rejection! Four in Play. Back to Work.

Write on!


Let me know! What website do you have to visit every day?