Writing ProcessTag

On Giving Myself Permission Not to Write

I know I have to write it. The essay I’ve been trying to write for a year and a half.I will be in the grocery store or out in the muck of a hike dripping with sweat and a sentence of it will come to ...

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 9 of 9

One thing about the pandemic is that it has changed how we socialize and interact with other humans. Even before the pandemic people seemed to be becoming more engaged online and less actually connected. ...

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 8 of 9

What happens when the unexpected occurs. As a writer, I like to throw unexpected elements in when things seem to be progressing smoothly. The same way I don’t conceive of a beginning or middle before ...

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 7 of 9

Love like anything that matters in this life is a risky business. To fall in love, one must take a big leap of faith. I wanted my characters who were dissatisfied with their isolation to jump both feet ...

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 6 of 9

I am a true romantic, one that loves love and I particularly enjoy writing about love. From the onset of the story, I knew that it was some sort of romance, but I didn’t know if the outcome would be ...

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 5 of 9

In the isolation of lockdowns and social distancing where does romance go? For those who are romantically involve it could intensify the bond but for many the opposite has been true since there has been ...

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 4 of 9

The creation of tension and suspense and mood shifts to me are just as important as creating characters and the plot themselves. Tension and suspense is what makes the story come alive. For the short ...

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 3 of 9

As I stated before, the writing process for me is an intuitive one. Some people are afraid or intimidated by the blank page, but I see all kinds of possibilities in it. I am a visual writer, so I have ...

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 1 of 9

When I was first approached by Open Book about doing the author residency for the month of February, my first thought was that I would do a serialized short story and write a piece of fiction in the same ...

Soundwalking Through the Pandemic

Every year, there are a few times I think I’m free from the grip of depression. And every year, there are a few times I realize that I’m not. Years ago when I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, ...