I Wish I’d Written That

I can’t remember if I’ve relayed this story before, or used this title in a post before. If I have to either (or both), forgive me, the old brain ain’t what it used to be. A few years back, the Magpie’s English class did a big project. The teacher partnered with the head of a […]

On Writing Contests

Back when I had my “State of the State” phone call with Agent Carrie back in January of 2015, one of the things she suggested I do with my manuscript was enter it into a contest or two. The idea being that it gets the manuscript out there and that, if it won or got […]

On the Cusp

A funny thing happened while I’ve been griping and grumbling and carping about my current WiP: I’m nearly finished. Last night, I sat down and tried to work on the penultimate chapter. I didn’t have much success, but that’s okay. The morning was productive, and this chapter will come–I may start in on it after […]

New Year Noodling

First post of the new year, and I’m in rather familiar territory: not knowing what to write! So, we’ll ramble. -We did not watch the ball drop–it’s just not the same without Dick Clark (though the last time I saw Dick Clark, that wasn’t the same, either). We did do a countdown, complete with New […]

Post-Christmas Post

Christmas falling on a Friday may be the best thing, ever. My organization gets both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as holidays, leading to an automatic four-day weekend (although, as my boss insists on pointing out every time a holiday comes up, we don’t actually have to take the holidays on the day they occur […]

Tuesday Take Two: The Mind of a Writer

Because I’m feeling better (though I’m still not sure I could say that I’m feeling well), and because I actually somewhat slept last night, and because I feel kind of bad about yet another post with a title like yesterday’s, I figured I’d try this again. A week ago, I had one of those great […]

The Big Fear (About Writing, that is)

On the first Wednesday of each month, many writer-bloggers participate in the “Insecure Writer’s Support Group,” an opportunity to share insecurities and fears with sympathetic souls and offer encouragement to others. I learned about this great idea early in my blogging life, but declined to participate. Not because I don’t have insecurities, but because I […]

A Thought On Theme, Or What It’s All About

Here I am at five in the morning, posting because I can’t sleep, not sleeping because I picked up a cold with a really bad sore throat over the weekend. Here I am also writing about my writing for the first time in forever! My apologies for all the rants lately, and thanks for sticking […]

The Mockingbird Sings A Different Tune

Of all our feathered friends, the northern mockingbird has one of the greatest, most descriptive names ever: Mimus polyglottos. Rather than have some awkward Latinized name to memorialize the person who discovered it (see: Bachman’s warbler, Vermivora bachmanii), the mockingbird’s name pretty much sums up what the bird is all about: “Many-voiced mimic.” Here’s a […]

Monday Musing, Sleepless in Upstate New York Edition

Here it is, Monday morning, Memorial Day in the USA, a holiday, a day that, in theory, I can sleep in on, and here it is, 5:45 in the morning and I am up. Just like yesterday. Just like the day before. For the better part of a week, my sleep schedule has gotten totally […]