December brings childhood memories of stockings hung behind an open-face heater in absence of a fireplace. Chocolate drops and ribbon candy. The aroma of baking pies. A diary filled with handsome boys, elite schools, sports cars, and fabulous careers. None materialized as I imagined. I discarded the diary and continued to dream. At retirement, I …
December 2010 President’s Message from Violet Carr Moore Read More »
Patrick Coyle, Bobbie Kinkead and Violet Carr Moore were winners in the National Novel in a Month (NaNoWriMo) contest to draft a new 50,000-word novel in thirty days.
Great news, technology is booming. Writers have more options than ever before to get their writing out there. The first step, getting the written words into a format that can be submitted, shouldn’t be the hardest step. Voice recognition software is one tool that can increase a writer’s productivity. If you are partially fluent in …
The publication of Mark Twain’s autobiography reminded me of how quickly the world is changing. Twain wanted to write honestly, so willed that this book not be published until 100 years after his death. In a Twitter world, all I could think was, “Filters. What a quaint notion.” I blog, and subscribe to a couple …
Mark Twain mind, Twitter world by Lani Longshore Read More »
When lighting a candle isn’t an option, should we curse the dark or learn to write with the lights off? I’m not the only writer who is struck with wonderful ideas at the most inconvenient times. The more disciplined among us actually stop what they’re doing and write notes. I am not so disciplined, especially …
Ghosts and goblins disappeared at midnight October 31st while my fingers hovered over computer keys to click the first words of National Novel in a Month Writers contest. Futuristic writers extracted spooks from closets with paranormal or sci-fi tales and waited alongside suspense and romance writers. Millions of new characters were born. Authors will nurture …
November 2010 President’s Message from Violet Carr Moore Read More »
Award-winning magazine writer, children’s book author and travel memoirist Brad Herzog contends that the secret to good writing begins before the first line is ever written. It all starts with a good idea — subject matter that generates enthusiasm among students, concepts that capture readers’ attention, stories and angles that are simply too clever for …
I am not a tortured artist. My life has been mostly free from drama, and I was raised to keep it that way. But I write science fiction; in my stories, when a stranger comes to town, it’s usually a very strange stranger. For me to create characters that are believable outsiders, I have to …
Alice Kight stepped into the winners circle for Too Early haiku contest Monday, October 4, 2010. Marilyn Slade and Violet Carr Moore were runners-up. Read Alice’s poetry in online and printed editions of Contra Costa Valley Times and Tri-Valley Herald. View Marilyn and Vi’s submissions in Bay Area News Group online at http://www.insidebayarea.com.
A Real Mother by Violet Carr Moore will be published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Mothers (Simon & Schuster, release date October 5, 2010).
