The pain of writing
I promised last post to share some previous writings from when my older sister died of breast cancer. The point here is to illustrate how emotional issues -- the loss of a loved one, a breakup, etc. -- can spark ...

Emotional issues
As Breast Cancer Awareness Month enters its last week, I am reminded of the struggle my sister went through with the disease several years ago. She lost her battle at age 41, and looking back at some the poems and ...

Scatter Shots
 One of my problems, so the writing experts say, is that I don't stick to one type of writing. I write poetry, short stories, have an illustrated children's story manuscript, and of course, have the proverbial "Great American Novel" gathering ...

Web Matters
There are hundreds, probably thousands, of web sites geared toward writers. They offer everything from writing tips, to insights into the publishing industry, to ways to quit procrastinating. All of them have free content and some offer expanded content for ...

Writing discipline
I agree Billy! That may be THE toughest thing about writing....disciplining yourself to actually do it. I went to a writers' conference once (it was on Maui, will talk more about it later!), and one of the things that really ...

When to write?
I want  to talk about when people write. Over the years I have heard a lot of different suggestions -- write first thing in the morning, when you are fresh, write late at night, write when you have five spare minutes. ...