Everyone likes good news. In a writer’s world it may come in various forms but it’s hard to beat the excitement generated by that very first phone call from an agent. In our family that’s the big story this week. Daughter Shari Green is now represented by agent Michelle Andelman of New York’s Lynn C. [...]
Archive for April, 2009
The First Step
Posted in Family, Writing, tagged Agent, Lynn C. Franklin Associates, Michelle Andelman, Shari Green, Writer on April 30, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Take a Cue from the Boy Scouts and Be Prepared
Posted in Health, Writing, tagged Be Prepared, Dr.Steven Hendlin, Swine Flu, Writer's Block on April 26, 2009 | 4 Comments »
News reports about Swine Flu in Mexico now spreading throughout North America have many nerves on edge. There is talk of an impending pandemic. Fatalities have occurred in Mexico City but elsewhere the strain is apparently much milder. Still, bulletins are being circulated about how to minimize the risk of contagion and what to do [...]
Butterflies, Fireflies and Fleeting Ideas
Posted in Reading, Writing, tagged Butterfly, Ideas, Jane Yolen, Take Joy, Writing on April 22, 2009 | 4 Comments »
The stationary white speck stood out against the hemlock’s deep green. Even with my handy-dandy birdwatching binoculars I couldn’t quite tell what it was – a cherry blossom tossed there by the wind? Perhaps a feather having drifted from a nearby nest? Curiosity brought me back to the window several times but I couldn’t identify [...]
A Mañana Morning
Posted in Reading, Time, Writing, tagged Coffee, Mañana, Mexico, Mornings, On Mexican Time, Time, Tony Cohan on April 21, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you I’m not a morning person. While I’m thankful for each new day, I waken groggy, slow to acknowledge its presence. I’m always in awe of writers who rise before dawn to snatch hours of quiet creativity before the rest of the world has left their beds.
I [...]
The “Wow” Factor
Posted in Environment, tagged Bald Eagle, Nature on April 17, 2009 | 2 Comments »
It isn’t often that I am startled to the point of gasping, but this morning was one of those times. As I sat in our family room watching the TV news a movement outside the windows caught my eye. A quick glance and I breathed a stunned “Wow!” as a huge (and I mean really [...]
Thanks anyway, but I didn’t ask for your advice.
Posted in Writing, tagged Advice, Critiquing, Writing on April 13, 2009 | 3 Comments »
My teeth grind like fingernails on a chalkboard when someone heaps unsolicited advice on me. So why do I have a section in my journal where I collect pithy bits of wisdom? Why is there a sagging shelf in my office stuffed with “how to” books on writing? Maybe it’s human nature to resent being [...]
The Son Has Risen!
Posted in Easter, Religion, Seasons, tagged Easter on April 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Grumbling Big Time
Posted in Writing, tagged #agentfail, #queryfail, Agents, Frustration, professionalism, Writers on April 11, 2009 | 5 Comments »
I’m having trouble digesting that the blogosphere is still reverberating with reactions to #queryfail and the resulting backlash dubbed #agentfail. I’m not linking to these because I think it’s time the venting stopped.
It seems like everyone has an opinion on why writers are so angry at agents – Nathan Bransford, Jennifer Jackson, Johnathan Lyons, Victoria [...]
Whose Story Is It Anyway?
Posted in Writing, tagged Donald Maass, Fiction, Originality, Writer Unboxed on April 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Authors get asked all the time about the source of their ideas and there’s never a simple explanation. A fragment of conversation, a fleeting glimpse of the unconventional, an unexpected sequence of events, and suddenly the writer’s mind is asking, “What if…?”
The idea won’t be original. There are basic themes that have regularly reappeared throughout [...]
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