In my book, "The Unknown Door," one of my main characters, Nate, his family own their own little family diner. When I think of a family diner, I think of a quaint little place. Everyone knows everyone type of atmosphere. That's the kind of diner I'm going to have for Nate and his family. One of those types of diner I remember seeing in a movie is in "Picture Perfect" with Jennifer Aniston, Jay Mohr, and Kevin Bacon. In the movie, there is this scene where Jennifer's character is sitting in a … [Read more...]
Day 140: Making Soup
I love this quote: Stories are what show up on the page once you start hitting the keys. —LARRY MCMURTRY Isn't that the truth? Whether it's nonfiction or fiction, the stories we decide to write about won't happen unless we take that first step to get them written down. And when we do this it's like we're making our own little soup story. I think back to the day when this website was born. I'd been told by my mom for a while to write down my thoughts and share them. It's good for you. I didn't … [Read more...]
What if money were no object
That isn't a hard one. I know there are the typical answers like traveling the world, or buying your dream house or car (or both :) ). But that is more materialistic than what I'd want to do. First, I'd want to start the scholarship program in my daughter's memory. For those of you who don't know me very well, my daughter had severe classic autism. And finding good teachers who not only want to teach but want to teach child with autism and also have the patience to do it at the same time are … [Read more...]
A Broken Heart is an Open Heart
Grief and bereavement is a long and difficult journey. Even if the loss is imminent and you think you are prepared, there is no adequate preparation in the end. The agony of losing a loved one, particularly a beloved child who should have long outlived you, is acute and sudden yet also seemingly never-ending. When I lost my niece a few years ago the intensity of the grief I felt overwhelmed me. Yet somehow, in the process of both recovering from my own sense of loss and helping my sister - who … [Read more...]
I’m Back (Man It’s Been A Long Time)
Well, who knew that my break would have taken me this long. Since my last message we have moved to Anchorage, Alaska. Our nephew has gone back home to live with his biological mom. And now I'm back into my writing. It's been so exciting as I completely rewrote out a new outline for my book as I figured out how I needed to proceed forward. I've just started writing out the new scene's and rewriting several of the ones I already had as the book takes on a new turn. I'd like to start a writing … [Read more...]
Moments Where Prayer Is Needed
In life we have so many different types of moments that forever touch us in some way. Some are those happy moments that you remember with a smile on your face. And then there are those that when you look back bring tears to your eyes. You couldn't stop the tears if you tried. I have a friend. Her sister's little girl over a year ago ingested toxic soda, or better known here in the US as a dry powder crystal type Draino. When I found out, I of course hoped that somehow the little 2-year-old … [Read more...]
Day 111: Authors on Pedestals
I really like this. As writers we have so much at our disposal to write about. Every life today is different from someone else’s life. Think about it. We all have our own unique way of looking at things. We can look at two people and think they are living the exact same life. However, if you were to step into the shoes of each one you’d find out that while there are some similarities their lives are different. Think about identical twins. When I was growing up my mom became friends with a … [Read more...]
Memorial Day
This is a little late as far as posting when it was Memorial Day. Right now I am sitting in our temporary home while we start to the process of looking for a place to live. My husband and I got into Anchorage, Alaska just over 24 hours ago. We've been so excited to move here. The journey was long as we traveled both across the country by car and then a very long ferry boat ride. When my precious daughter passed away almost five years ago Memorial Day took on a whole new meaning for me. … [Read more...]
Day 100: Writing as Therapy
Since I can remember I have kept a diary. I think I was in the fourth grade when Grandma Patton sent me a diary for Christmas as well as a pen. I could write whatever was on my mind. Whether it was that I hated my mom for something I probably got in trouble for or that she wouldn't let me do whatever I wanted. If I'd only known then what I know now. I promised myself I'd never be like my mom, yet the honest truth is all kids can't stand their parents as kids but so appreciate all they have done … [Read more...]
Day 97: Clear Language
When we write do we want to be vague or do we want to be as clear as possible? I hope your answer was the latter. When we write we should want to be as clear and straight forward so there is no confusion on the part of the reader. The clarity of our story needs to not make sense only in our heads but also the reader. If we didn't have readers there would be no need to write a story in the first place. This morning my niece and her friend that stayed the night were upstairs in her room … [Read more...]
