rejections by email

I experimented in this wave of submissions–I told the editor that he could send his response by email (hardcopy submission by snail mail…emailed response).  I like the email response.  Of course, it’s a rejection so I could like it a whole lot better, but the email’s quick and painless.

we interrupt this literary programming…

…to talk about tonight’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy.
It’s a classic story arc: female protagonist must choose between hot “bad boy who always seems to hurt her and will continue to wound her heart” who happens to be her soulmate….and hot “too good to be true good boy who is kind and everything wonderful but [...]

Orhan Pamuk wins the Nobel

Orhan Pamuk won the Nobel Prize in literature this year.  Every writer I’ve bumped into today is positively giddy, “Orhan Pamuk won the Nobel!”

What is my personal writing style?

After many years of muddling through horrifying fashion trends and multiple wardrobe rehauls (i had an “i wear only black” phase, a “tshirt and jeans” phase, a “baggy clothing” phase, “designer only phase,” etc.)…I have come across my own personal style. I know who my fashion icons are and what I can pull off [...]

locking it all out

The other day my husband had a writing deadline.  He is not a writer, but he did have to write something for work, a long document of sorts.  Oh good, I thought–we could sit down and write together.
And then we started writing.  And I had to take a break.  But he kept on writing.  I [...]

writing music clash

oooh, it feels like a tornado of music in our house this afternoon: my husband and i are spending an afternoon writing (very different things, but writing together, nonetheless).
his music list: R&B (right now, Mary J. Blige) and various reggae playing on the house stereo speakers.
mine, well you know. my list does not [...]

the state of my fingers and toes

i need a manicure and pedicure–the state of my fingers and toes is horrendous.  and i must admit, i can tell some internal anxiety meter is spiking.  because i do these HORRIBLE things when i get stressed out:
i pick at the hangnails on my fingers (and gnaw on them)…and i also pick the bottoms of [...]

fiction is a brilliant impostor

Now here’s a touchy topic in writing circles these days: writers who write characters outside of their own race.
I’m putting some thought into it these days, even though my thoughts tend to be very private. I’m trying to formulate my own opinions and gather observations to come up with some solid footing before [...]

a repressed and lovely memory

a buddy of mine is at Hedgebrook these days. though it’s only been a few months since my time in the woods, writing in a cottage all to myself, my own time there feels worlds away (and yet the creative inspiration from my time there is so rich and near). i am [...]

meaning of life continued

i brought up the question about the meaning of life (or more reasonably: what is a meaningful life?) yesterday.
you have been encouraging with your own suggestions, experiences, and hypotheses!
yet i’m still overwhelmed with the blank canvas before me: how do i fill this life with meaning? what is my purpose in life? i [...]

meaning of life?

Not since high school and my college years have I been filled with as much wonder as I’ve been feeling these past few weeks.  Maybe it’s the onset of Autumn with its beautiful light that bathes everything in an angel-glow…or the 80s music and fashion that makes me nostalgic…or maybe I am so exhausted that [...]

tossing and turning

i am not a problem sleeper.  i have no problems getting to sleep and staying asleep.  actually, i am a problem sleeper if you consider my NEED for sleep as a thorn in my side–i can’t pull all-nighters, and i’m not the kind of writer who can stay up all night writing.  bummer.
but last night, [...]