I gave up on my debut novel sometime over the summer. I'd written, re-written, queried agents, gotten requests for fulls, but no offers of representation, only scant comments alluding to how nicely it was written (Then, why don't you want it? Arrrghhh!) and brief, sometimes confusing, allusions to what wasn't working. I cut scenes I felt were dragging it down, added scenes to expand on subplots, tightened sentences, and still I had this sinking feeling it wasn't good enough. But like any…See More

Last night, I was at a party with some people I hadn't seen in awhile, which means I had to answer the oft-repeated question, "How's the book coming?" This question isn't so easy to answer anymore. First of all, which book? The one I thought was "finished"? The one I just started? The one I have notes for, but am saving until the other two are done? Plus, I wrote three essays this month and put some short stories into a collection to send out to contests.All of this should make me feel a bit…See More

It's August, and my preschooler is suddenly concerned with all things Christmas. She's checking out books about Santa at the library and requesting a nightly viewing of "Frosty the Snowman." This prompted me to bemoan the fact that we struggle every year to send out Christmas cards. My husband's reply:  "We should do them in the summer when we have more time." After we both had a good laugh, I said, "Why don't we?"So, we've just written our "update letter" and ordered photo cards with the idea…See More

So, I'm proud to say that in the past week, I've actually created a new folder on my laptop with the title of my work-in-progress. I then proceeded to type "Chapter One" and wrote an opening paragraph that I am totally in love with, plus a pretty decent first scene introducing my protagonist (and a couple of her colorful co-workers). I've been dying to move this novel beyond the notes stage, so I'm feeling very upbeat right now. How did it happen? One word: Scheduling.Hubby has a flexible…See More

So, I'm still writing in my closet and convinced that this is definitely the place for me. This summer, when I have more time, I plan to turn this space into something fabulous. Even now, with badly scuffed walls, diaper boxes on the floor, and my husband's shirts hanging over my shoulder, this space is inspiring. Today, I'm peering over the top of my computer out the window to see a gentle rain spattering the brick street in front of our house and, finally, after a long, hard winter (it snowed…See More

I’m writing this morning with my laptop balanced on a nightstand stolen from my daughter’s room. A chair hauled up from the kitchen fits in from of it, with just half an inch to spare. The nightstand is so wide, I have to straddle it. My back is against the wall. My husband’s clothes are brushing my left arm. You see, I’m in a closet in our bedroom. It’s approximately six feet long by three feet wide, not a tiny closet by any means, but not very large, not the kind of place most people would…See More

I surprised myself last weekend. I met someone new who asked what I did, and I said, with no hesitation, "I'm a writer." She said "Wow!" and our conversation continued down other paths. Normally, there would be follow-up questions, such as: "Who do you write for? What do you write? Might I have read any of it? What kind of money do you make?" Maybe it was the immediacy and self-assured tone of my answer, "I'm a writer," that cut off these questions before they began. I kind of doubt it. I think…See More

I've recently taken over as secretary of my book club and am in the process of gathering recommendations for our 2011 reading list.  We'll have a meeting soon to vote on our picks, but the list will be small this year, only five books.  We'll supplement with interesting articles from the New Yorker, Atlantic, etc. for another five meeetings.  Two meetings will be purely social, one of which includes our families. The other involves lots of cookies and wine. (Who am I kidding? They all involve…See More

We all had fun watching Christine O’Donnell’s failed bid for the Senate. I particularly enjoyed her comments on evolution stated during one of her appearances on Bill Maher’s show. She wanted to know why we aren’t seeing monkeys evolving today. Maher makes the observation that she really thinks evolution is something we can observe happening right before our eyes. It made me think of one of those flip books I had as a kid. Turn the pages, and something morphs into something else.In any case,…See More