An email unexpectedly popped up in my inbox the other day. It was from myself. Or at least the self I was a year ago. It was a reminder to me that at that time I  was pondering about what to do with the writing business, struggling with teenage angst (that of my children, not my own, thankfully), and trying to soak up the joyful wonder of the little ones who still...
Read MoreDeadline means different things to  many people. For my husband it is getting things accomplished at whatever cost as long as it is complete by his mental deadline. For a writer, the word deadline is the line you draw in your head and avoid stepping over regardless of how many nights of sleep you have missed. For a reporter writing for a weekly newspaper it is the...
Read MoreI had the delightful experience of bringing my three-year-old daughter on the train into Boston the other day. Her enthusiasm is contagious. She is delighted to see all the people and make comments about them, although sometimes a little too loudly. Yes, man does look like a beach ball, but shh… Her excitement reminded me of my first train trips, when I came...
Read MoreThere is a condition that happens to writers, an illness that grips their very souls. It’s even more horrible than writer’s block, which involves sitting at a blank screen with no words coming to mind. In that debilitating state a writer feels useless. No, worse – impotent. You know there is much to be said but you can’t figure out what to...
Read MoreWay back in 7th grade, my elderly English teacher told us to think about our audience before we started writing. I didn’t really understand that exercise since obviously she was the only one who would read it. But she had a point. It helps when you write to think about one person who will read your piece. Imagine that you are writing for just one person. ...
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