It is very easy to envision your wedding but then you start planning it and it all gets a little complicated. Well,this is what I am finding anyway. You have the perfect ceremony in your head, the perfect dress, the perfect cake... the perfect everything. If only you could just pluck those images straight out of your brain and into reality, that would just be perfect. (If you happen to find a way to do that, please let me know).

Trying to find a venue? Head to a wedding fair! Firstly,…

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As this year draws to a close, I have had those aha moments. Quite a few, in fact. If I have any more, I will be bald-headed, chanting "Om" and sitting Indian-style on top of a mountain. Wait a minute. The shape of my head would not sport that particular hairstyle very well. Picture a caramel light bulb in a terrycloth robe. Yeah, exactly.



The latest revelation comes from a young adult novel that I had to review. OCD, THE DUDE, & ME chronicles the senior year of a teenage girl… Continue

Check out this great wedding day cake plate giveaway! Cake Plate Giveaway!

I need some of you crafty people to help me out! How do I make this?

Am I crazy? 2 Weddings in about 2 Years!

Last night we returned from a nearly two-week visit to my in-laws.  I love spending the holidays with family.  However, since we live in different cities, we first have to get there, and that usually means a trip to the airport.

Travel makes me edgy in general, but add two small children who are invariably…

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Pardon me while I think aloud - feel free to read along:

I have a blog about writing (writingschedule.wordpress.com), another for my writing and writing life (wild-writer.blogspot.com) and another (second_chakra.blogspot.com) for all the other interests in my life: home, health, family, friendships...what pray tell should this one be about?

 

Maybe...tap...tap...tap...a place to review blogs, books, and movies!

 

To learn from the talented women utilizing…

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Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans

~John Lennon

Sure, I drank, but my drug of choice has always been planning.

What can I say? I love to plan. I plan my meals, outfits, workouts, workdays, weekends, vacations. You name it, I plan it. And, while I might not have been an extreme example of an alcoholic, I am an extreme planner.

Planning helps me feel (falsely) in control of my life. It’s one of the ways in…

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Planning for a new baby can be fun and also overwhelming. Snapping up cute little baby clothes and furniture for the nursery is something many first-time parents dream about. But, many new parents are shocked by the number of unexpected expenses that can accrue before the…

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If I had to pin down the single most important secret of powerful storytelling, it would be structure. Here’s why

This week I hosted a forum on the Facebook group Writers Etc and kicked off with this discussion about story structure. Here it is, slightly expanded, buffed and clarified…



Good storytelling is about grabbing the reader, making them care, worrying them, disappointing them, cheering them up, giving them hope, making them… Continue

Have you thought of a brilliant twist for your plot? How does it fare in the Blade Runner test?

Who doesn’t love Blade Runner? It’s one of the few films I could watch again and again. But I don’t have much time for discussing whether the main character Rick Deckard is a replicant, like the characters he has been sent to kill.



No, actually I do. He isn’t a replicant. Period. Because if he is, that weakens the whole… Continue

On one very, busy day of mine recently, I managed to drive to my destination (which was a good half-hour away) while completely daydreaming. When I pulled up to park, I then realized that I didn't even consciously drive at all. How scary is that? I was on autopilot the whole way. My brain knew the route, and took over since I was in la-la land. Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever been on autopilot?



I was thinking how our lives can be like this. We do things because that's… Continue

How can a journal help an experienced writer? Journaling allows writers to vent, process, explore, discover, and rejoice. It offers a safe place to explore, express oneself, dig deeper, analyze, and discover truths.



Over the past ten years my journals have been

A record

A place to spew

A place to delve and see where the pen takes me

A place to hone my thoughts

A place to sharpen my craft, and figure out what I really mean to say

A place to make… Continue