I’ve been asked lately why the excerpts from my upcoming book have become erratic. Well, I’ve hit a wall, and rather than sit in stunned silence, I thought I’d offer this post as an update. There have been some pretty big bricks in my path. My dad died, and though we didn’t have much contact, …
Well it was a close one, waiting to see which would cave first, the Chicago Teachers Union, Mayor Rahm, or my sanity. After 7 glorious kid-filled, Norman Rockwell-esque strike days, the kids are back in school, and I have one less excuse to not be writing. Though there was that week of intense cramps, nausea, headaches and overall feminine maladies to remind me that no, I’m not getting any younger and that my hormones are, just like the teachers’ union, demanding more air conditioning and willing to shut down the system to get it.
Sadly, my computer had to be taken to hospital today to undergo a scan. I’m told it’ll be all better by tomorrow, so please keep it in your prayers. This is bringing up some memories for me….when I was a kid my brother cut all my doll’s hair off and my mom said she was …
My 7-year-old daughter loves to sing, and she recently had a chance to sing in front of a small group at a recital. The performance seemed to melt away any remnants of self-consciousness and free her inner chanteuse, because since then she’s been belting out Adele and Katy Perry and even Rascal Flatts at home. The other day she turned on an old favorite – Carrie Underwood’s Jesus Take the Wheel. Every time she launches into the chorus I have to laugh, remembering how she used to think it was Jesus take the Wii.
I recently gave my first public reading, and somehow managed to stave off most of my fears until the morning of the event. That’s when the catastrophic thinking kicked in. What if no one shows? What if too many people show? What if my tongue gets tied, my face turns red, my palms sweat, or …
I’m sitting in a room with 25 fourth graders and we are all shouting, “I am an author! I have something to say!” I have goosebumps. I’m much older than 10 and have written a novel, but never in my life have I shouted those words. Call me a slow learner. Add to that humbled volunteer. I’m a writing coach at an Open Books literacy field trip; my group and I have just spent 2 hours learning about character and creating our own from a photo of a nondescript brunette twenty-something. The kids decide she is Anna, a fashion designer in New York City with an on-again-off-again boyfriend. She’s trying to pay off student loans and doesn’t know if she can afford to stay in the city.
👉 Enjoy dedicated writing space just steps from Lake Michigan
👉 Benefit from one-on-one developmental editing sessions