Roget’s Thesaurus. Ah, heaven. I try my best to educate my students on the necessity of having a hard copy of this three-inch thick book around if they are truly interested in writing. After all, when we’re stumped for just the right word, they see me stand up and head to my bookcase. “It’s time…
Category: Timed Writing
Out of Balance
Am I the only one? I can not seem to balance my life to save my life. And I do mean literally. I don’t know if the Puritan work ethic was injected in my veins at birth or if I just lost the ability to engage in leisure time activities somewhere along the way, but…
Literary vs. Genre Fiction: What are the Differences?
The differences between literary and genre fiction can be slightly elusive, so here goes what I have learned by reading descriptions of the forms in two well-respected books on writing: Janet Burroway’s Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft and Sarah Stone and Ron Nyren’s Deepening Fiction: A Practical Guide for Intermediate and Advanced Writers….
Hope Springs Review
This afternoon, we went with family and friends to see the movie, Hope Springs starring Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. This is a story about a couple who has been married 32 years but who are disconnected emotionally and sexually from one another. Steve Carrell plays their marriage/sex therapist and you watch as this…
The Grand Canyon & Now Back in LA
We arrived at the Grand Canyon at 9 am this morning and this is what we saw: The sky was overcast and there had been a little rain so the air smelled evergreen sweet. We passed many fields as we drove from Flagstaff that were covered in these flowers: Of course, they was exceptionally pretty….
Trip Back to CA
We are slowly making our way back to Los Angeles from North Central Texas. Today we have progressed at a relaxed rate, stopping to take pictures as we’ve made diversions off of 40 and onto Route 66. The first stop was Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo, where an art group named Ant Farm sank 10 Cadillacs…
Heading Back to CA
We are 65 miles east of Amarillo heading west. We stopped in Childress at JT’s Drive-In for an excellent fried catfish dinner while we sat outside at a table with our dogs. We arrived exactly at 7:30 and they had just put out the closed sign. I asked if we could still order and she…
Similes: Trickier Than You Think
“Similes: Trickier Than You Think” isn’t exactly a title that brings most people running to read a blog post. Dear Lord, you might think, just how wacky has this poor woman gotten that she is now worrying herself silly about the difficulty of a simple figure of speech? Dear, dear, the poor thing needs a…
How to Write Regularly
How to write regularly is one of the most common obstacles aspiring writers face. Time is the number one reason most cite for why they don’t routinely sit down and compose, but there are other issues as well, such as writer’s block. This is when you have the time and inclination, but once ready to…
Flash Essay: Pasta Making Party & Recipe
Tonight we had friends over for a pasta making party. I made the pasta dough in advance so it could “rest” at least 30 minutes before our friends arrive. Plus, I had the marinara sauce, turkey and chicken sausages, broccoli and chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting all ready (our friends were bringing bread and…
20 Minutes a Day 