When I was a child, I remember wandering into the home office of an adult I knew well, and finding a list of priorities taped to the wall. They were numbered, with the top priorities up high and lesser ones on the bottom. I remember thinking, “That’s weird. Why would someone need reminding about what’s […]
Perspective
Love Your Day Job
One morning last week, I woke up to a rejection in my inbox. I’m as accustomed to these emails as any writer, but this was a particularly rough moment for me. I’d been riding high, because several agents have requested my full manuscript recently, and I was hoping that meant an offer would be coming […]
Hey There, Your Perfectionism Is Showing
I’m making a departure from my usual posts this month, starting with “I Got Knocked Down. Can I Get Up Again?” and continuing with today’s entry. Usually, I start a post with an idea I want to communicate to others: the answer to a question about writing, reading, productivity or perspective. Then I find some […]
I Got Knocked Down: A Story of Rejections and Hope
The original title of this post, as I planned it on my editorial calendar, was “How to Stay Sane and Keep Writing During The Holidays.” I still think that’s a great title. Problem is, I don’t feel qualified to write it right now. I’ve fallen off my writing horse this past week. I’ve stumbled, and I’m […]
Fill It Up (What I Need To Be Happy)
The last two weeks have been difficult ones. Aside from the usual busyness of school (it was the first two weeks of lessons and rehearsals for my band program), I was also in a car accident. No one was hurt, thank God, but the emotional stress definitely affected me for awhile; also, I had to […]
Labor Day: The Meaning of Work
Happy Labor Day, USA! Other than signaling the end of summer and the start of the (false) inability to wear white, what does Labor Day actually stand for? Let’s take a moment to consider the history of American laborers, and how the work we do has changed over time. For most of human history, up through the agricultural […]