This is the time of year when I disappear daily into my office and don’t emerge until late evening. What am I doing? Working on Zoom with high school seniors who are writing their college essays, community college kids applying to their first choice universities for transfer, and college graduates applying to various post-graduate programs…
Tag: Writing
Surprising Myself
Today, I was talking with my daughter Liz about adding a Mission Oak bookshelf to a room she was redecorating. She said, “Oh, maybe I can put the new bookshelf next to the one Dad has already loaned me.” I looked at the bookshelf she referenced and said, in pure antique dealer-speak, “Oh, but the…
Prompt: Open the Drawer
Today, I’m going to write from a prompt I found in the Observation Deck: A Tool Kit for Writers by Naomi Epel. This tool kit is comprised of a 160-page book with short chapters filled with writing advice, which also corresponds to a 50-card deck. Chapter titles include Change Your Point of View, Follow the…
Successful Ojai Nature Writing and Crafting Workshop!
Today, I held a nature writing workshop in Ojai in collaboration with Footprints in the Soil (FITS), an environmental nonprofit. My daughter Rachael led a crafting workshop on the back patio of Move Sanctuary, where the event was held. My other daughter, Liz, helped with the event’s planning, participated in the writing workshop, and snapped…
11 Tips for Creativity
I found the following list in an old 2013 writing file tonight. I apologize to the author. I did not write down your name, website address, or any identifying information. I tried typing in the title “11 Tips for Creativity ” and found several articles, but none had this content. I’m so sorry. I will…
Learning about Author-Publishing, One Step at a Time
I didn’t post last night, but it wasn’t because I wasn’t writing. The truth is that I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning editing my manuscript for publication. I got up again this morning after not lots of sleep and worked all day on it. I read it page by page, refining…
Taking the Plunge: Finally Publishing My Novel
By the end of March, I plan to publish my novel, Hope in a Time of Dying. This book is very long in coming and below is the process I have gone through for more years than I want to admit. I will keep you tuned in as we determine the publication date, and where…
Some Sage Advice from Some Very Successful Writers
I’ve posted this before, but it is hard to beat the advice presented here. Just had to reshare from an article a few years back from The Guardian. Even if you don’t write, you might find yourself having a good laugh or two. Happy first day of Daylight Saving Time! Sage Advice from Those Who…
Some Excellent Writing Advise
Below is a short article that contains wonderful writing advice the author received from Knopf’s Charles Elliott. A variation on this advice came from a teacher I’ve worked with but I cannot recall which teacher. His/her advice was, “Pretend you have a camera on your shoulder and let the reader see exactly what the camera…
The Success of SCN’s “20-Minutes-a-Day” Writing Challenge
I just concluded hosting Story Circle Network’s “20 Minutes a Day” January writing challenge. We had 44 participants who committed to writing for 20 minutes a day from January 2 until today, January 30th. Here’s to your success, writing participants! Daughter Liz Beaty, SCN’s program director, and I created this program a few years ago. This…
20 Minutes a Day 