Long before recycling became popular—now mandatory in most counties in California—our single trash barrel for a family of four was seldom half-full for the weekly pickup. My mother repurposed every item. She bleached flour sacks and made dish towels. She sewed skirts from colorful floral chicken feed cloth bags when times were tough. During agriculture […]
Recycling by Violet Carr Moore Read More »
I just emailed a piece to a favorite blog site. They requested a bio and a head shot. The photo is not a problem. I use the same one for every submission. The bio, on the other hand, not so much. As any published writer knows, it’s important to get this piece right. It provides
Bio Overload by Camille DeFer Thompson Read More »
1. You won’t have one if you don’t write. Just in case you thought the writing pixies would finish those notes you have in obscure files on your computer (or worse, only in your head), it doesn’t work that way. Write the story today. 2. Marketing shapes meaning. Writers may loath shameless self-promotion, but we
Five Things You Need to Know About Your Artistic Legacy by Lani Longshore Read More »
Someone asked me if I had grandchildren. Without thinking, I said, “Oh, no, thank goodness.” I got some funny looks on that one, but it’s very true that I am not grandma material. That got me thinking about the characters in my stories. Do I know whether they are grandparent material? Would they get down
Is Your Character Grandma Material? by Lani Longshore Read More »
We recently lost another terrific writer, Pat Conroy. The author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini, just to name two novels in his remarkable collection, delved into the complicated subjects of family and social relationships, connecting individuals to a larger historical narrative. He wrote, “The most powerful words in the English language
Tell Me A Story by Constance Hanstedt Read More »
I once lived where the vernal equinox meant more than spring break was around the corner. Flowers bloomed for the first time in months, trees burst into leaf, snow melted. No one complained too much about a loss in productivity because everyone had spring fever. Then I moved to California. It isn’t that we don’t
This Time of Year by Lani Longshore Read More »
In February I attended the San Francisco Writers Conference. I met other writers, presenters, editors, and agents. Everyone gave us their best advice and did it with kindness. This conference would not exist without the many volunteers who gave their time before, during, and after the conference. Their smiles and friendly attitude added to the
San Francisco Writers Conference 2016 by Neva Hodges Read More »
I belong to several critique groups, and I’m also a beta reader. The process of taking another writer’s words and seeing if I have a moment of inspiration that might make a good piece better is exhilarating. I often benefit as much if not more by the analysis. I have also discovered that I’m becoming
Inconvenient Inspiration by Lani Longshore Read More »
Enough time has passed that I’ve evaluated my writing resolutions list and wondered what I was thinking at the end of December. Usually I toss my list away, but this year I want to encourage us all to add one more item to it. Let’s resolve to make 2016 the year we get more training.
The Value of Training by Lani Longshore Read More »
At a CWC Mt. Diablo Branch workshop on writing emotion, Amanda McTigue pointed out that whether people are reading or not they are still exposed to stories every day. Movies, television, sometimes even advertising are all informing our potential readers. When there are so many stories floating in the air, how can we make our
Writing in a Story-saturated World by Lani Longshore Read More »
