When my daughter was young, she once told me—in all innocence—that I have a witch’s nose. Shall we say I was not…grateful….for her statement of what she saw as an incontrovertible fact. After all, witch’s noses all look a certain way, right? Long and beakish, perhaps topped off with a wart sprouting several wiry hairs….
Category: Inspiration
Things to help you keep moving toward your dreams.
Writing Totems
A few years ago, I worked one day a week at an amazing children’s bookstore in Ashland, Oregon—Treehouse Books. Jane, the owner, inspired me by populating the store with items that I’m sure represented the magical/mystical spirits that bless her life: fairies, gnomes, ravens, owls, trees, even the occasional piggie evocative of my own Rufus….
Gatekeepers
One of these people is a gatekeeper: an editor. The other is a hero hoping to be allowed through the gate: a writer. Which is which? Can you tell? Is it the one speaking, or the one listening? The speaker looks authoritative. The listener, earnest, perhaps eager…or intimidated. One of the most intimidating parts of…
Take Flight
Outside my front window birds soar and swoop and dive. Not just once or twice a day but again and again and again. Pelicans glide into view in arrow-tight formations. Seagulls burst skyward, wings pumping against the wind. Crows chide and ravens rave as they skim the waves. What drives this constant motion? Dogs, sometimes….
Morning Breaks
I took this photo outside the window of my tiny home (AKA RV) early this morning. I live in a small tree-encircled park within an Ashland neighborhood, just a few blocks from Main Street and the quaint downtown area. Deer outside my window are a common sight. I find it both beautiful and tragic. Beautiful…
My Writing Lair
I love seeing pics of the surroundings in which the writers whose work I love create their works. It’s energizing for some reason. So I thought, hmmm…why not take a snapshot of my own writing space? I did, and the pic you see is the result. When I step back and look at it, my…
Media Blues
Do you ever feel like your mind has become a wasteland filled with countless identical grains of sand? These days, mine often does. I know why: it’s the morning news. Since last November I have let the crazoids featured in the day’s news dominate my mornings. I used to read books. Now I read whatever…
Why Sketching Matters
One of my wonderful writers shared with me something picture book author Candy Fleming told her: to keep in mind that most of what we write will be crap. Natalie Goldberg and Julia Cameron also remind us to feel free to write the worst garbage in the world, especially first thing every day. What I…
New Year’s Tangent
We wake up this morning to a new year. Will today be just another day? This year just another year? Will we succumb to the humdrum routine of modern life with its whirl of spirit-numbing lights and noise? Or will we live this year fully awake to the wonders around us? I don’t know about…
Cozy Up and Write
The shortest day of the year has come and gone, yet outside my window rain still falls. Whether it’s snow or cold or drizzle, winter has a way of keeping us inside for a season. Why does nature require this fallow time? Why can’t the sun shine and the air blow warm on bare skin…
Bespectacled & Bookish 