I’ve posted before about the six types of toxic feedback, as well as five reasons to quit a group that’s not working. The good news is, when you find yourself in this position (because you inevitably will), there are countless opportunities to go forth and find new, improved crit partners. Whether you want to swap…
Category: General Interest
Yet another word on the importance of acting like your writing is a career, even if it isn’t…yet
As the Western Liaison for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, I schedule workshops about seven times per year on the Western Slope. It’s a long way from our side of the mountain to the Front Range, and the cost to attend events over there can be considerable. It’s a 500-mile round trip, about four hours each…
Fresh Mind Syndrome: A Writer’s Affliction
The comic strip Pickles features an adorable 70-something couple named Earl and Opal Pickles. In Sunday’s issue, Earl asks Opal, “Why do I have to say everything twice?” This is related to one of my husband’s frequent complaints: I never listen to him. He may tell me twice that he’s playing golf on Friday, but…
Kesey & Me
Who or what first inspired you to write? I’ve always believed the reading experience is not only subjective, but highly situational. By that I mean that reading The Catcher in the Rye at fifteen is a fundamentally different experience than reading it at forty. Because while books do not age, their readers, and the world…
Sisters in Arms: Female Characters in Contemporary Military Fiction
I am a U.S. Army veteran of ten years. I deployed twice to Iraq with a Combat Support Hospital (think M*A*S*H* but in today’s wars). Now I’m a 34-year-old mom of two small children. One thing I experience as a female veteran on all platforms is that many people forget women serve and have served…