Quiet Keystrokes and Midnight Ramblings

Well, my newest project as a writer has been to form a group of other writers to meet with a couple times a month to share my work with and talk about the highs and lows of writing.  We're only a few weeks into this whole ordeal (it hasn't been the easiest thing in the world to accomplish), but overall I'm pretty pleased with how it's gone so far. The hardest part of being a writer is being alone with your thoughts and your work all the time.  You can only share a conversation with your characters for so long before you start to wonder if you're developing some kind of Multiple Personality Disorder, and I've discovered that the heroes in my stories have notoriously bad grammar. I spent this week reading through the projects the other writers submitted for critique, and it is great to be able to look at someone else's project.  The humor, terror, sadness and beauty that the other writers have created on their pages is refreshing and inspiring. As in any...

We have reached the last week of May solidly intact, and happily my 31 day sabbatical from writing, graphics design, marketing and concept art is coming to an end.  I don't really know where the month has gone, but it has been a great time of reflection as well as relaxation and I feel the flow of creativity building up within me. As I get ready to put fingertips to the keyboard once more and get back to the business of making a living, I've started going through some of the things I've written over the last couple of years.  My hope being that I may be able to spark some inspiration for new articles and fiction to be written in the coming weeks.  It is interesting to read through the articles that I know I enjoyed writing versus the articles that have received the highest page views.  Sadly, there isn't always a correlation between what a writer feels is their most enjoyable work and what readers want to read. Take for example, the article I wrote just...

It's been a beautiful few days here; sun bathed warm weather with just enough puffy clouds to make your imagination perk up.  Until yesterday afternoon anyway when the thunderstorm moved in, although even that was beautiful and made the house smell like summer rain. I'm still technically in the midst of my month of "down-time" but writing is starting to creep steadily back into my life one small step at a time.  We all knew that it would be impossible to keep it waiting for long anyway, no matter how much the landscaping needs attention or how many dozens of cookies are waiting to be baked. In my break from life, I've been reading a lot.  It's brought me back to when I was a kid, curled into as tight a ball as possible on the edge of the couch or tucked away in a dark corner of the bedroom where it's quiet and still, white-knuckling a book and oblivious to anything other than the words dancing in front of me.  Only now I'm not reading about tiny In...

It has been a long time since I have read a book in less than 48 hours.  It has been a longer time since I have read a book that has truly caused me to think of how I perceive myself as a writer.  And I can't remember a time when both have happened in tandem. Yesterday morning I picked up How I Became A Famous Novelist  by Steve Hely, and about 20 minutes ago I finally turned the last page.  While thoroughly entertaining and a fantastic spotlight on how fickle the publishing world can be, the book has also prompted me to think about where I would fit in the broad spectrum of authors characterized in this fictional memoir.  Without going into great detail (since I believe you should find a copy and read it for yourself), I will say that I fall somewhere in the middle of the "Honest" and the "Literary Con-Artist" of writers characterized in the book.  I'd like to say I'm closer to honest than con-artist, but I suppose that depends on the day and t...

Well, it is official.  I am now a full time authoress.  No more day job to keep me down!  It is exciting, relaxing, relieving, and completely disorienting not having a regular 9 to 5 job like everyone else on the planet.  And already, 9 days into this whirlwind adventure I have discovered some things. The first thing that I discovered was how "light" life is without the responsibilities I had burdened myself with.  Physically, I have already been able to push my purse down into the back of a closet because suddenly everything I own fits snugly in my pocket.  No heavy bundles of keys, swipe cards, company cards, receipts, worries and cares to haul all over creation with me.   Sleep has returned to me in just the right amount and I am told repeatedly that I look more alive than I have in years.  Although I am living life without an alarm clock now (for the first time in a decade) I am still waking early, but without the urgent "the world is ending...