One of my favorite picture books as a child was about a little girl who doesn’t understand time, seasons, or the days of the week. She vaguely recalls holidays: the flowers blooming, baby chicks , a basket with a fluffy bunny. She remember a cracking walnuts in front of a warm fire, relatives gathering andContinue reading “Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Are You Tracking the Holidays?”
Category Archives: Literature
Writing Shortcuts, A.I. and the Future of Creativity
Before there were computers and artificial intelligence, there were file cards. Writers producing nonfiction used the cards to organize their facts. Writers churning out vast quantities of genre fiction, such as a series of detective novels, also used cards and charts to vary plot lines. Because often they were paid little per book, these writers figuredContinue reading “Writing Shortcuts, A.I. and the Future of Creativity”
Fairytales Inspire Modern Fiction, Writing Prompts and More.
Perhaps it was the illustrations that captivated me when I’d pour through the fairytale books, the dragons and the princesses with long gowns and tresses, but of all the picture books in my room when I was a young child, I liked the fairytales the best. I can still remember many of those books, theContinue reading “Fairytales Inspire Modern Fiction, Writing Prompts and More.”
How Writers Can Help One Another to be Published
I recently became a founding member of a Poetry Collective. Many people have found this surprising, not the founding member part, but the poetry part. Because when asked about what kind of writing I do, I seldom mention poetry. True enough, I write poems. The majority of these poems, however, are strictly for myself. Poetry,Continue reading “How Writers Can Help One Another to be Published”
Have The Thought Police Arrived?
Banning books is one thing, but what about rewriting books?
Finding The Right Words to say I Love You
It is Valentine’s Day tomorrow and traditionally it’s a day when love is often expressed in the form of a poem. The one, constantly used and overused goes: Roses are Red Violets are Blue Sugar is Sweet And so are You! The original old English version from Gammer Gurton’s Garland published in 1784 sounds aContinue reading “Finding The Right Words to say I Love You”
The “S” in Sci-Fi is for Surprise
I’m specifically attracted to work that contemplates philosophical and spiritual questions…
Writing Tools to QuickStart Your Memoir
I was straightening out a bookshelf and I noticed a gift I’d forgotten about, a large hardback with a floral cover I’d catalogued with the cookbooks. The title, “A Mother’s Journal.” Divided into sections, it has questions such as “Where I lived” and “What I remember about my family home” and “How Your Father andContinue reading “Writing Tools to QuickStart Your Memoir”
Opening Our Minds to Time Travel
We don’t (to my knowledge) have a physical time machine to step into, but perhaps within our own minds we can make a journey.
A GOOD WAY TO HONOR ARTISTS
And the winner is…. Contests and awards usually involve money. But just the idea of being recognized for your accomplishments can be a reward. Enter the idea of the “Annie Award.” For artists supporting themselves on marginal incomes—writers, painters, performers— cash awards are great, but Arts Councils, as nonprofits themselves, don’t have a lotContinue reading “A GOOD WAY TO HONOR ARTISTS”
Writers, Tired of Rejections? Try Penning a Hermit Crab Essay
A few months ago I started writing a series of rejection letters to myself. Just for fun, to take the edge off my depression over the extensive number of rejection letters from literary publications that arrive in my inbox, most around the beginning of the month. The common wisdom is that you have to submitContinue reading “Writers, Tired of Rejections? Try Penning a Hermit Crab Essay”
What Sunflowers Can Teach Us About Writing
Earlier this week I posted a photograph on social media of one of our sunflowers that had lost its head, literally. One of our recent thunderstorms with high winds must have snapped off the bud. However, this particular sunflower refused to give up. Seeking another opportunity to bloom, it managed to create several tiny sunflowerContinue reading “What Sunflowers Can Teach Us About Writing”
The Chautauqua Experience
A summer camp for adults is how I described where I was going to anyone who asked, because I wasn’t sure if I said to Chautauqua, there’d be instant recognition. How do you explain to someone who has never been to Chautauqua what it exactly is? The word itself originated with the Iroquois Indians whoContinue reading “The Chautauqua Experience”
What are the Best Kinds of Endings?
It’s difficult to finish things. Jobs. Relationships. Home improvement projects. A manuscript. A writer gets a fabulous idea for a story or a character and then they just don’t know whether they’ve said enough or too much. You work and work at something with fervor, and sometimes energy and enterprise fade out. You start askingContinue reading “What are the Best Kinds of Endings?”
Trading Places as a Literary Device on a Freaky Friday
See the world, if only for a few moments through someone else’s eyes, and you gain both empathy and knowledge.
Nadja Maril, Writer & Author 