Everybody tells you that success requires persistence, lots of trying and failing and trying again. Of course, those people have usually already succeeded. Continue reading
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On Veterans Day, Another List
My grandfather at Quantico, age twenty-one
Last time, I wrote about lists. This time, on the day when we honor all who are serving or have served, whether active duty, discharged, retired, lost, in reserves, or supporting service people (such as those amazing military families), here’s a different list. Continue reading
Lists
My wise friend, Dacia Ball, recently gave a talk to a women’s breakfast in which she discussed, among other things, lists. Since I am a huge fan of lists, her remarks resonated with me.
I adore lists. They’re so concrete, an irrevocable record of intent: I’ll get to it, it’s on my list. Putting an item on the list ensures that it will not be forgotten or overlooked. On the list, it’s real. It has value, a place in my schedule.
Feel-Better Stories
Last week, I discovered a genre I’d never heard of: up lit.
One article describes up lit as “the new book trend with kindness at its core . . . novels and nonfiction that is optimistic rather than feelgood.” Continue reading
For Writers With Day Jobs
I don’t usually share newspaper articles here, but this one is special. I don’t know this writer or her book, but I love her real-life story.
This post is dedicated to every writer who holds down a day job (including parenthood which, from what I hear, is at least two full-time jobs in and of itself) and still manages to carve out time for writing, reading, researching agents, figuring out publishing, and doing all the stuff necessary to put our stories out into the world. Continue reading
Two and a Half Careers
When I was in my twenties and possessed unlimited energy, there was a brief period when I had three jobs. Continue reading
Not Nothing
“My biggest fear was, do I look like someone just attacked me?” she said. She said she recalled thinking: “I’m not ever telling anyone this. This is nothing, it didn’t happen, and he didn’t rape me.”
These aren’t my words. As reported by the Washington Post, they’re the words of Christine Blasey Ford, whose allegations of attempted rape against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, are rocking Washington. Continue reading
The Freelance Life
It’s Labor Day here in the U.S., which means that some people (teachers, office workers, church secretaries) have the day off, while others (retail employees, police, firefighters, hospital personnel) are working at least as hard, if not harder, than on any other day.
In between these two extremes are those of us who don’t have a regular employer, a regular work schedule, a regular paycheck. Some of us may be working today; others may be tending to the chores that piled up during the last project; still others may be taking a day of leisure. Which category we fall into on this particular day is largely the luck of the draw, because
We are the Freelancers.
Guest Post: The Tree Between the Worlds
Luna
As I was scrolling through Facebook this morning, I came upon a very unusual post. The Cat House on the Kings has a page where cat lovers share photos and news about their beloved pets. It is not uncommon to encounter a photo of a kitty who has passed away or, in pet-lover parlance, crossed the Rainbow Bridge. What is unusual is what I discovered today: a beautiful, sensitive, and imaginative tribute that offers a glimpse into what may follow for a cat–who, after all, has nine lives. Continue reading
Celebrating, Part 2.5: When Lightning Strikes Twice
A couple weeks ago, I shared the big news that my novel placed as a finalist in the Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Competition.
And now, there’s more news, because today, the novella lists were posted, and . . . Continue reading
P. Jo Anne Burgh 