ProlixMe

In this strange time, it feels like the Coronavirus sucks up all of the oxygen in the room.  But still, there are moments of kindness and happiness to cling to – here’s one of mine.

He bought me a big glass jug of chocolate milk from the store. His grin is stretched broad across his face as he watches me pull it from the refrigerator. I look up at him with raised eyebrows.

“I saw the way you…

Boo on being sick…

Hello, internet friends.

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been a bad blogger as of late. Turns out the first little bit of 2020 has been a bit intense for me. I’ve been trying to balance my job (which has me on the road a lot lately), a volunteer job (which is important but stressful), a writing critique class, health issues, and moving into a new apartment with my boyfriend. So yeah…that’s…

Today I’m grateful for the natural rhythm of a new year. It can help us reevaluate and determine what we want.

Resolutions may be tricky, but thinking about what is important and what you need – that is never a wasted effort.

Wishing you some positive change this year. 🙂

a writer’s call

I’m not sure what kind of writer I am – my style or my genre.

I know I’ll always need to work on the “show and not tell.”

I know my grammar isn’t perfect and I know my prose isn’t always clean.

But I also know this – I can break your heart on paper if I want to, just by speaking the truth.

To my fellow writers – always know that your words hold power and your stories can resonate in strangers’…

Fellow writers, I have a question –

Do you ever wish you could write in the margins of a notebook or on a piece of paper while talking on the phone (or in a mindless meeting)….like you would doodle 3d boxes, flowers, hearts, and spirals?  Do you wish you could essentially doodle words?

I don’t mean just playing around with signing your pen name or adding extra flourishes to your letters (though…

quotable – on being brave

Hello there.  It’s been a little while since I wrote on this ol’ blog and I wanted to restart my engagement with one of my favorite things – quotes.

Yes, it’s true.  I love quotes.  Whenever life throws a curveball, I find myself searching for a quote that captures how I feel and that helps me push through.  Today’s quote is from Jack Gilbert, someone I had never heard of until I read Big Magic,…

quotable “you can’t go back…”

In keeping with the traditions of the NaNoWriMo season, I’ve a quote for you that can be applied to the herculean task of writing 50,000 words in one month… or, more generally – to life.  🙂

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” – C.S. Lewis

There will always be things you can’t change – and the past ranks at the top of the list. …

Why is it that the words that we use to describe restlessness have their origins in boats?

unanchored

adrift

unmoored

Maybe it’s because restlessness marks the start of change and the beginning of a journey. After all, you have to pull up the anchor before you can set sail.  Once you’re adrift, you only have to look at the horizon to decide which way to go.

Quotable Thursday: “All you have to do is write one true sentence”

In honor of National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it is otherwise known, I’m posting a quote from Hemingway.  These are the words he’d say to himself, when faced with writer’s block or self doubt –

“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” – Hemingway

<Writer-nerd sigh>  So true, so true.

Words of hope to motivate many writers this month, as…

I read once, that the things we fear the most are the things that already happened. 

But wait –

Let me back up a bit – I was never fearless. 

There are stories they would tell me when I was younger, about my carefree uncles jumping into swimming pools from rooftops (it’s true).  I was never like that.

When I dove into the waters of the unknown, it was from a more reasonable height.  But I still…

Do you ever have a dream in which you decide that the clothes you wore to bed are completely inappropriate for your dream conversation/activity?

There have been several nights that I’ve woken up in different clothes then I went to sleep in or I wake up in the middle of searching for a better top.

I’m waiting for the day when I wake up in full work clothes.  Then I can just roll out of bed and go…

…your name is safe in my mouth. – This quote or some variation of it has been attributed Jess C. Scott and Jodi Picoult.

I think this is one of the kindest things to say to another person.  Be it a family member, friend, or partner – I promise not to smear or betray you – no matter who I talk to.  And the idea is beautiful.

The hard work is honoring that promise to those who deserve it (and it’s…

A bee flew into my mouth the other day. Maybe my sweet talk drew him in.

I felt him tumbling over my tongue, searching for purchase on my palate. But I spit him out before he had the chance to stand or to sting. I couldn’t risk the prospect of adding any bite to my words…

But I wonder, if I’d held him there – could my tongue hold the balance of sweetness and sting? Could I tear someone to pieces,…

Over the course of a writer’s life, I image that the amount of writing can ebb and flow like the tide.  It’s easy to fall into this trap.  Life and responsibilities can easily take over even the most well-intentioned  (but undisciplined) writer’s life.

Clearly, I’m talking about myself here.

I’ve gone through periods of time when I’m writing every day and periods when I may not touch a notebook…

Guest Post on Viral Blues by C.S. Boyack

I recently invited my friend and author C.S. Boyack, over at https://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com to do a guest post for his new book “Viral Blues.”  Craig is a talented author and blogger – his posts are often filled with good humor, snark, and fun, as well as great advice and ideas.  Take it away, Craig!

  Thanks for the invitation, Leesha. It’s important to have places to talk about our work,…

Sometimes, I get embarrassed about things that have happened months (or years) ago.  My brain conjures up an event and even now, sometime well past it on the space-time continuum, I cringe.  Ugh.

As a writer, I can seemy past mistakes.  I keep scores of notebooks and, believe it or not, I’ve had this blog for several years.  This allows me to re-read.  But in going through some older pieces –…