Tag Archives: writer’s angst

Fres-yes? (Wild Kratts Edition)

The Wild Kratts are based in Canada. In addition to their TV shows, which are broadcast all over the world, they occasionally venture over the border–mostly into eastern states and the mid-west–to entertain select child-filled crowds with their live show. The energetic brothers have … Continue reading

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RIP Poem

Because my father resides in me I am what others expect to see– though not as or not ever without less this or that & always 1 count behind or is it ahead of much worse: that 70’s divorce, old split/split … Continue reading

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O Summer!

I’ve been quiet since May, after a brief, powerful writer’s retreat. I’ve been busy this summer with what the retreat inspired: Writing. Revising. Writing. Revising a new short story, one screaming for edits of late. It’s almost ready for submission. Compiling … Continue reading

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Sugar Cookies (‘Is Mars in Retrograde’ Edition)

My son and his dad have a game in which my son pumps his legs hard and gets one of the swings on our creaky set to as high as he can without giving me a heart attack, and my … Continue reading

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Fire

We left our drought-socked stifling valley at 815am and by 2pm—Hwy 99 to orchard-heavy back roads with stop signs, to another “highway”, to back roads with stop signs and colonies of slender giants we realized were members of the Stanislaus … Continue reading

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Business As Usual, Please

My dad passed away last September, although ‘passed away’ sounds too ‘death-lite’ for the actual event. If you’ve never been at the bedside of someone moving on, all I can say is, it’s probably not possible to brace yourself for the experience. Try … Continue reading

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This Just In (Elusive World of Poems Edition)

Bigger than George Clooney’s marriage. Bigger than my son eating cheese flavored Chex Mix for the first time yesterday (wish it had been broccoli, but at least he’s branching out…double edged sword, this pickiness business), bigger than the beachwalk I recently … Continue reading

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Overcast In The Valley

Craving a view, I rode the escalator to the 3rd and final floor of that Macy’s and speculated on valley through tinted windows grand enough for a museum. No thunderheads. Not the merest ribbon of blue sky. No sun. Mounds … Continue reading

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Tropical Impression

I thought: I’ll blog every day. But then we landed, left the sweetly palms-infused airport and drove straight to the ocean. I know as well as anyone how distracting ocean is—sunrises, sunsets, all the dancing, lightening blue in between those hours–and … Continue reading

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Never Fails

Text conversation with my writing mentor as I attempted to send her crucial re-written novel pages before her plane took off, pages I was anxious for her input on so that I could meet a writing deadline ASAP, pages she … Continue reading

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Mornings Become Them (Birds Edition)

615am–I get out of bed to let the dog outside and get back in bed forgetting to let the dog back in and he barks and I shoot out of bed not wanting the dog to wake the first grader … Continue reading

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Staying The Course

Saturday morning I rose when our son (impossible to wake on a school day) woke at 5:30a.m. to begin a weekend of attending birthday parties, completing school projects, and constant verbalized hankering for Minecraft (it was Survivalcraft, until we realized the … Continue reading

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Handy Resources

Brainpickings has compiled a nice list of 9 writing resources. Some are oh so familiar, perhaps all are to you. But I’m glad to be reminded of them. And quotes such as this one by Kurt Vonnegut, which you’ve probably … Continue reading

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The Truth Is…(Maintenance Edition)

The truth is, I’m way too busy to blog—sprawling on the couch eating bonbons takes up a lot of time. And let me make this extremely clear: NOT milk chocolate bonbons with cherries tucked inside them. If I was even … Continue reading

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Angst (Cheese & Strawberries Edition)

When you man your bookshelves for hours, reading first pages because you are maddened by your own first pages and can’t recall how to begin a story or a novel without every palabra jumping out at you with a buzzer sound … Continue reading

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, Children's Books, Fiction, Me and Us, middle grade, Poetry, Writer's Angst, Writing, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Adventures in Rejection (Snailmail Edition)

I don’t like rejection, but I like this rejection letter even if it is: a rejection letter. So, thank you, rejection writer, for taking the time to read my submission and respond in such a gratifyingly (for me) thorough manner. You are … Continue reading

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Quote For The Weekend (Seriously Late Edition w/Rabbits)

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. —Anne Frank We tend to rotate which charities we give to monthly. Save The Children often tops the list. Also the Mae Tao … Continue reading

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Luke Put Up Your Visor

Look up. I was looking at Leroy, watching him think about calling everything off–his ears twitched and he swung his head weirdly to the right, because of me—and my Type A procrastination. Look up. I looked up—trees, that house perched precariously … Continue reading

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April Lines

What a gift-packed month. Poetry has crammed my inbox daily. I went to a Rhapsodomancy reading at the Good Luck bar and listened to knock-you-off-your-feet lines from poets with poetry-spewing-volcanos where scalps should be. 1 day of NaPoWriMo left. So go on. Go write. You know you … Continue reading

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Voices

I stopped typing and froze in the bed office. A voice was in my house. Deep. Half whisper-in-a-frightening-tomb, half ogre-stuck-in-a-well. I set aside the laptop, rose from the bed office chair and peeked into the hall. No one. Except the … Continue reading

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Update 2: NaMeSitDif (etc.) Projekt

Since I forgot to Na on Monday, as I promised myself, and since I didn’t Na on Tuesday due to pressing engagements (Target, the teeth people), upon leaving the stables today I stopped at a No’ridge Starbucks on my way home, hobbling delicately inside, … Continue reading

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Quote For The Weekend (Unchaste Edition)

True poets should be chaste, I know, but wherefore should their lines be so? —Catullus (Gaius Valerius, of course…) Of course he loved Lesbia! Sheesh. Get over it. Hopefully he ultimately got over it, IF he wasn’t 30 when he … Continue reading

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Courage! (Neigh Edition)

I was late to retrieve the boy from school because I Face Sucked like a fiend AND watched the latest episode of “Once” on hulu AND in another open hulu tab caught up on the latest episode of “Revenge” WHILE checking … Continue reading

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To All Rejections

To all rejections: I am building a cathedral. I am building a cathedral. I am building a cathedral. I am building a cathedral. I am building a cathedral. I am building a cathedral. I am building a cathedral. I am … Continue reading

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2013: Resolute

1. Stand taller. 2. Be wiser. 3. Mother better. 4. Honor date nights. 4a. find a babysitter after 5 years of not        4b. either more or less caffeine @8pm any Friday night—search for successful eye-propping balance! Ha ha! Fun! 5. … Continue reading

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