It is funny how the occasion imperceptibly changes, like the light, at an inconstant rate. At any given glance you may see that the dog has rolled over in his sleep, or the trees have lost their leaves. Morning drains inexpressibly into lunchtime, or Christmastime. Overhead the geese are migrating, just as they were the […]
Characters Are We
Time is unfolding like a scroll, and we are letters on the parchment, helping to make up the words that tell the story. Each of us is a character, in both senses of the word. At times, characters become aware that they’re part of the story, and that brings the realization that, first, there is […]
The Best Books I’ve Read on the Writing Life
There comes a time in every aspiring writer’s life that they decide they want to learn writing from the best writers out there. And that means reading books on writing by successful and well-loved authors. Fortunately, there are plenty of options to choose from. It seems that nearly every successful and established writer has written […]
The 12 Best Books I Read in 2021
I didn’t reach my reading goals for 2021. I started the year with a Reading Challenge on Goodreads of completing 77 books. Didn’t think it would be too challenging. After all, in 2020, I read 126 books (although my initial goal was only 99). In fact, I’ve met or exceeded my reading challenges for the […]
Rest in Joy, Joan Didion
In Memoriam, A Review of The White Album Joan Didion, American novelist and essayist, passed away last week, at the age of 87. Her book, The White Album, was required reading for me to obtain my MFA in Creative Writing. One of my professors loved her work and spoke about it at length. I had […]
5 Hard-Earned Remote Work Lessons
I’ve been working from home for over 10 years as a freelance writer and editor. These days, clients search me out and invite me to work with them … But it wasn’t always like this. I’ve learned several lessons about remote work, particularly while launching my work-from-home career. Some of these lessons were costly in the […]
The Still Point – A Poem
When you believe in a dream you can reach You head out west or any of the four directions or six, counting ground And sky But some part of you returns or remains, the still point From which you travel To which some part of you always returns
Seven Tips to Setting Lifechanging Goals
“The brain is a goal-seeking organism.Setting a goal creates structural tension in your brain, which will seek to close the gap between where you are and were you want to be, who you are and who you want to become.If you don’t set goals, your mind will become stagnant. …Goals are dreams with deadlines.” — […]
12 Things to be Thankful For
It is Thanksgiving day! I have so many things to be thankful for and take far too much for granted. So today, I’m posting 12 things to be grateful for. 1. I’m thankful for butterflies. While sitting here, there are butterfly wind chimes hanging above me, and I have a butterfly design on a folder […]
No Such Thing As a Small Decision
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle You’re standing in the check-out line and see the headline of a magazine. It’s a favorite actor of yours and he’s broken up with yet another girlfriend. You pick it up, eager to know the details of his life. […]
Bonita Jewel 