If you're a cup half-empty person, you're always asking and answering that question. I am, admittedly, a prophet of doom. I can ALWAYS see how things can get worse. Just ask my husband. He'll tell you about the giant trees that stood majestically on our front lawn, the ones I imagined falling. Not in just …
Does Sincerity Result in Good Writing? — Mere Inkling Press
Most aspiring writers are sincere. The question is, does the earnestness of their work translate into excellence? In other words, does honesty correlate to quality? C.S. Lewis addressed this question in an essay about John Bunyan (1628-1688). Bunyan was the English writer and Puritan preacher best known for The Pilgrim’s Progress. At the outset of […] …
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Spontaneous 3: Field Research
I can do face-to-face with my students because...well, I don't know exactly. I'm used to it. It's comfortable. I have the nicest students in the universe. (Seriously. They thank me after class—for lecturing them and giving them homework.) So I am not down for this thing I have to do. This thing, I admit comes …
Spontaneous 2: Scene in Writing
The gorgeous Cleveland weather got me thinking scene. I've recently learned a couple of scene don'ts. Don'ts are easy. You can take them out if you happen to have them in your manuscript. (Says the queen of strikeouts. I never met a phrase I couldn't pare.) Do's are harder, as is creating new scenes for …
Spontaneous 1: Uncomfortaville
I am a writer. I have grand thoughts while grinding away on my upright bike. Admittedly, that's because I'm listening to Les Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Sylvester Stallone yelling locker room halftime speeches on volume nine, accompanied by epic soundtracks. I close my eyes, peddle faster at the crescendos. I apply football to writing, weightlifting …
First Day of School, First Triathlon, NO CEILINGS, & First Day of the Rest of Mom’s Life
Today is the first time I have ever watched one of my children get on a yellow school bus. When people were awed that I homeschooled four kids, I used to tell them homeschooling wasn't much different than doing homework together. I take that back. It's one thing to be a cog in the great …
Happy Brain Surgery Anniversary to Me
April 6th, 2018. It was the Cleveland Indians' home opener. I was at University Hospital having an opener of my own. Brain surgery. A year later the skin on my head is still tight. I often run my fingers along the dents in my skull. They can't be seen because my superhero surgeon managed to …
Coffee Confession Query Update
I wish the coffee would stay hot, even down to those last few sips. When it's first brewed I put my face in the mug and pull the aroma into my nose. Those gloriously warm first sips are the best. Then it gets mindless. I'm in the world of my manuscript, slugging down the caffeine …
Coffee Confession from USC
Today for coffee we could head over to the Starbucks at the University of South Carolina. Luke is applying to colleges, and we're all dreaming of what's in store for his future. While we haven't heard back from many of his hopefuls yet, USC accepted him into their honors college and invited us to visit. …
Flash Contest Detour: No Microcosms, No Problem!
Each session of my 5000 Words class, we devote one week to flash fiction. The assignment is to enter a piece in Microcosms, which experiences a rather dramatic spike in entrants. 🙂 This morning when I opened my email, I found Microcosms is having technical difficulties this week, the week my students are to enter …
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KL Griffiths 