Category Archives: writing

Writer, Activist, Leader (And The List Goes On)

Posted on December 18, 2011 by PB Rippey

RIP “I would be glad if it was felt that I have done something generally useful. I don’t care much about personal fame or popularity. I would be satisfied with the feeling that I had a chance to help with … Continue reading →

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Waiting For Clause

Posted on December 11, 2011 by PB Rippey

Impatience, mostly, from everyone in the mall except those of us in line to see Santa, because we all have children and are too focused on distracting their impatience (pointing out Christmas lights, analyzing the 6 potbellied, dancing-on-hind-legs, oversized reindeer heralding … Continue reading →

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YA Muses Giveaway

Posted on December 7, 2011 by PB Rippey

Another tantalizing giveaway at YA Muses, a site I check in with every day (even if I’m on a tight schedule). The Mon-Thurs Muses all have books coming out in 2012. One, Katherine Longshore, is giving away an ARC of her novel, … Continue reading →

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Quote For The Weekend: Just Barely December (Clumsy) Edition

Posted on December 4, 2011 by PB Rippey

“I do like Christmas on the whole…. In its clumsy way, it does approach Peace and Goodwill. But it is clumsier every year.” – E.M. Forster Especially if you have a preschooler fascinated by the endless de-hanging possibilities of tree ornaments, … Continue reading →

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Library Peeking

Posted on December 2, 2011 by PB Rippey

A Peek Inside the Libraries of Famous Writers Colm Tóibín’s library and workspace. Photo via. I think Colm’s library is my favorite because of the floor-to-ceiling shelves–but Kipling’s cuts a close second because of all the wood paneling and beams … Continue reading →

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Quote For The Weekend (Late Edition As Was Holiday, No? Blrrrrgh)

Posted on November 27, 2011 by PB Rippey

A work of art is not a matter of thinking beautiful thoughts or experiencing tender emotions (though those are its raw materials) but of intelligence, skill, taste, proportion, knowledge, discipline and industry; especially discipline. —Evelyn Waugh Farewell post-turkey-day sandwiches of … Continue reading →

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Quote For The Weekend (Pre Holiday-Feasting-Blowout Edition)

Posted on November 19, 2011 by PB Rippey

It’s so beautifully arranged on the plate — you know someone’s fingers have been all over it. ~Julia Child  

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Book Impatience (Stop It!)

Posted on November 15, 2011 by PB Rippey

Part of me is content with our preschooler’s current home library (I’m referring not to a digital library, but the kind housing the real things–colors, textures, scents, sounds of pages turning, imagine it) and I can be heard gleefully spouting … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Children's Books, ocean related, Writer's Angst, writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Writer’s Day 2011

Posted on November 5, 2011 by PB Rippey

This photo is from the SCBWI Central-Coastal Writer’s Day 2010, at which I won a Special Mention for my middle grade novel and half off the price of this year’s Writer’s Day, which took place today, all day, and in which … Continue reading →

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Wet Beach

Posted on October 25, 2011 by PB Rippey

Pashmina fog. You can’t really write that, but–“smoky” is cliché, the cat feet brilliance is spoken for and I have a gray pashmina I never wear that is the hue and untouchable texture of  last Saturday morning’s fog. You cannot write … Continue reading →

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, ocean related, Writer's Angst, writing, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Quote For The Weekend (Late Edition As was Ocean-Distracted–Luckily It’s Never Too Late For Quotes)

Posted on October 23, 2011 by PB Rippey

“One of my favourite places to read was my elder brother’s bedroom. It was a tiny room with a bed, a chest-of-drawers, bookcases full of books, and shelves where he kept his seashells, butterflies, pressed wild flowers and microscope, because … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, middle grade, Quotes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

See? Not So Proud

Posted on October 11, 2011 by PB Rippey

Tripping on stage at the very end of a performance, during the denoument, the final vital monologue. Tripping. So hard, so clumsily, there was no hiding it. Tripping. So that everyone in that theatre was yanked out of their suspension of … Continue reading →

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, Fiction, Me and Us, Poetry, To Explain, writing, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Quote(s) For The Weekend

Posted on October 8, 2011 by PB Rippey

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, … Continue reading →

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Not Avoiding My Writing

Posted on October 7, 2011 by PB Rippey

See previous post. Now read this: THE PASSAGE OF AT LEAST 2 UNINTERRUPTED HOURS There is no blogging when working. There is no Hulu and bad actors living with dinosaurs. No Elephant Man. No social network. No Internet. They just. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Steps In Promotion, To Explain, Writer's Angst, writing, Writing Progress | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Avoiding My Writing

Posted on October 6, 2011 by PB Rippey

10:04p.m. Have been snuggled in writer’s armchair for 90 odd minutes, laptop on lap and discovered the following: Steve Jobs is dead, there are pictures of the Degeneres/de Rossi BH “lovenest” and you can look at them, The Pioneer Woman is giving … Continue reading →

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, To Explain, Writer's Angst, writing, Writing Progress, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Quote For The Weekend

Posted on September 30, 2011 by PB Rippey

“Art is good when it springs from necessity. This kind of origin is the guarantee of its value; there is no other.” “I really do believe that a fiction absolutely self-conscious of itself as a different form of human experience … Continue reading →

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The Elusive Palomino

Posted on September 29, 2011 by PB Rippey

As I was writing/editing and avoiding my laptop’s Internet connection in my bed office yesterday (see canny Zadie Smith quote from previous post), utilizing the sweet patch of me-as-writer time following leg-destroying yoga and before I was to pick my son up … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult writing, Avoiding My Writing, books, Fiction, middle grade, Poetry, poetry reading, Quotes, Writer's Angst, writing, Writing Progress | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Quotes Via Imagine

Posted on September 27, 2011 by PB Rippey

These are floating around Facebook right now thanks to Imagine Marketing. Let the Quotes For The Midweek begin! PS. I love Jennifer Egan. She was a guest at Bread Loaf when I was there and she was so friendly and … Continue reading →

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Notes From The Armchair

Posted on September 26, 2011 by PB Rippey

And how is it going, PB, in your newly rediscovered armchair? Are you working under favorable conditions? Or does the scent of cat pee distract you, just as you’ve made yourself comfortable, laptop on lap, glass of wine on the bookshelf next … Continue reading →

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, Fiction, Me and Us, Pets, Steps In Promotion, To Explain, Writer's Angst, writing, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

DUMMY

Posted on September 19, 2011 by PB Rippey

I have a new special writing/revising trick. Starting with the first three chapters of my novel, I copy and paste them into a brand new fresh document, print, then edit/revise/correct/read-aloud/enhance/make-marvelous, etc. I throw the hardcopy edits into the brand new … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult writing, books, Fiction, middle grade, Poetry, poetry reading, Writer's Angst, writing, Writing Progress | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Quote For The Weekend

Posted on September 16, 2011 by PB Rippey

I’ve been so busy writing, I haven’t blogged this week—except for this about my armchair—and now this quote for the weekend. Preschool has started up again at last (which my son loves—who wouldn’t love fingerpainting with chocolate pudding?) and I’ve had the … Continue reading →

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Armchair Magic (With Tall Reading Lamp)

Posted on September 14, 2011 by PB Rippey

Last night I accomplished so much in my new special writing place that all day I anticipated my return. Now that I’m here, typing eagerly, feet crossed and slightly off an ottoman, my spine cushioned far more comfortably than when I’m up against … Continue reading →

Posted in dog, Me and Us, middle grade, To Explain, writing, Writing Progress | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Free Hugs

Posted on September 11, 2011 by PB Rippey

Because even then I didn’t have TV and iphones weren’t invented yet, I received the news via a phone call from my sister up in Santa Barbara. Shortly after speaking with her, as I sat alone in my little cocoon … Continue reading →

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Quote For The Weekend (Late Edition Due To—Due To—Hm? Wot? Is Someone Speaking? I CAN’T HEAR YOU!)

Posted on September 10, 2011 by PB Rippey

I made up my mind at the beginning of my writing life not to write about my family and friends, since I want them to remain my family and friends. Others, it seems, have come to a similar conclusion. The … Continue reading →

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Poetry Reading

Posted on September 7, 2011 by PB Rippey

On Saturday, October 1st, 7:30p.m., I will be reading with other poets featured in The Pedestal Magazine at Beyond Baroque in Venice. Having just come from an extremely sparsely attended reading by the California Poet Laureate, I’m hoping there will … Continue reading →

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, books, Poetry, poetry reading, Steps In Promotion, To Explain, writing, Writing Progress, WTF | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments