Sometimes it takes a long time to get my son to sleep. I walk him around the room, rocking him in my arms, humming or shushing until his eyelids droop. This can get kind of boring after awhile, so I play little games with myself. I name all the Presidents of the United States in […]
Self Improvement
Writing My Fear (Why I Didn’t Want Children)
I’m struggling a little with the current draft of my novel. The novel is written from four perspectives: two younger women named Rachel and Hannah, one younger man named Billy, and an older woman named Greta. I’m happy with the four characters and how their stories compliment each other. Now that I’m getting down into […]
Appreciating The Magnolia Tree
Last week, Laura Vanderkam wrote a post about savoring the bloom of the magnolia tree. The value of the magnolia tree is not only in its beauty, but in the brevity of its bloom. If we let other things sidetrack us, if we let the short window of its pink-flowered life pass by, we won’t […]
Knowing Your Characters, Knowing Yourself
Sometimes I find it interesting to apply writing advice to real life. Here’s a meaningful one: Get to know your characters before you write. The story will write itself because the characters will tell you what they want to do. Isn’t that a great metaphor for real life? If you get to know yourself well, your […]
I Love/Hate my iPhone
I’ve had my iPhone for over 2 years now and I can’t imagine my life without it. That’s the same thing I say about my son. I find that disturbing. Why I love my iPhone: – Text conversations are easy to read. I really like to text! – I always have directions with me. – My […]
Being Mindful
I’ve been very stressed and tired over the past several days. There’s not much I can do about the stress (it’s mostly external) or the tiredness (it’s mostly Edwin-related), but I thought there might be something I could do to keep myself calmer and more centered. I decided to embark on an experiment in being […]