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 […]
Category: On Writing
Posts, tips, and insights on various aspects of the writing journey and the craft of writing.
NaNoWriMo: Are You Crazy Enough to Write 50K in 30 Days?
It’s the first day of NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. It’s also my husband’s birthday. This happens every year on November first, an extreme conflict of interests in my own life — my desire to do nothing but write, and the fact that life just gets in the way. Participating in NaNoWriMo means taking on […]
Working from Home — Is It for You?
Do you have a difficult time making decisions? I know I do. I’m somewhat of a perfectionist, so I like to know for sure something is the right path before I take it. The problem is, there’s often no way to know for sure. I read somewhere that you’ll never be more than 80% sure of any […]
Four Reasons to Write Short Stories
Photos can be poignant, powerful, or precious glimpses of a moment in time. Each one tells a story. And usually, the story is more than the caption you might see beneath the photo. Far more. There are photos that strike us with awe at the power of nature, like this one: Some photos strike us […]
Book Review of “Book Proposals That Sell” by W. Terry Whalin
I just read “Book Proposals That Sell” by W. Terry Whalin. And here’s the one-sentence review: If you are a writer – especially if you are a writer aspiring to be a traditionally published author one day – this book is extremely helpful and informative. And here’s the longer book review of Book Proposals That […]
The Wondrous Gift of Writing
Books were taunting me. They’d never taunted me before. Fascinated me, yes. I loved books. Every writer does, right? You know the joke, “Never trust a skinny cook.” The same goes for authors … I’m dubious about writers and authors who don’t like to read. As a child, I loved the hush of a library. […]
The Most Important Element of a Good Story
I generally avoid making statements like, “This is the most important aspect of a story,” or “This is the most vital ingredient to building a good blog.” Why? Because I understand there are so many dynamics involved in creating a good work of literature or art. There is so much more at play than just […]
The Challenge of Organization as an Author
If you’re a writer, you are probably also a reader. You love reading. You could spend hours every day reading. I often spend hours reading each day – more for editing work and school than pleasure (leisure reading is a rare activity of mine these days) … But even reading as part of my work […]
How Does a Writer Decide What to Write?
Are you a writer? Do you have just too many ideas when it comes to knowing what you should write? I know the feeling … in more ways than one. When I pick up my two older kids from school, they’re often bubbling over with everything that happened that day. Each one likes to be […]
The Importance of Being Present as a Writer
The life of a writer seems almost extravagant at times. I don’t mean that I sleep in every morning, wake up only when I feel like it, then walk or drive around in search of inspiration for writing. I don’t spend hours sitting outside an overly expensive coffee shop sipping a mocha latte and writing […]
Bonita Jewel 