Whether you’re waiting for an agent to offer representation, an editor to accept your short story or simply for the snow to melt, killing time can feel just that: vicious. Like the weather, there is little about this industry we as writers can control. We put words on the page or screen. We try again,…
Category: Writing Career
The Myth of Work Life Balance
I’ve had this myth debunked over and over, yet still slip into the trap of believing I can have/do it all, or that I’m the only one not able to balance all of life’s competing demands all the time. When this happens, I pause to remind myself of a bit of wisdom I received from…
Googly-Eyes and the Writing Life
Once upon a time, I taught cartooning and storybook illustration to elementary school children. At our first class meeting, I came prepared with a variety of fruits, vegetables, and inanimate objects like a stapler, a bottle, and a cup. I lined these objects up on a raised box and invited the children to tell me…
The Author’s Plate
When an independent author takes on the task of writing a novel then adds to this challenge the goal of marketing the thing, that combined work represents a very full plate. (I would have written “a very, very full plate” except the late Mrs. Dawson, my old high school English teacher, would spin in her…
Colorado Gold Conference: The Social Contract of Open Mic Nights
As a reader, I pledge to: 1. Abide by the time constraints and if I know what they are in advance, practice timing my selected piece2. Introduce myself and my work before barreling ahead into the reading3. Provide trigger warnings when appropriate and err on the side of less graphic violence, profanity and potentially offensive…