Stitching Time

These stitches, she says,
too sloppy--So she tears them
out and starts again.

Photo by my lightseeking husband, whom you can follow on Instagram at boom522

Short Story - "Us, Swimming"

I recently had a short story--"Us, Swimming," a sort of reverse "Little Mermaid" story about how our obsessions can overtake us--selected to appear in Wayman Publishing's Open Doors: Fractured Fairy Tales anthology. It becomes available through Amazon today in paperback and Kindle version. And, just on December 1, the Kindle version is FREE so check it out.

Read "Us, Swimming" in Open Doors: Fractured Fairy Tales.

NaNoWriMo Winner!

It turns out that the social pressure of NaNoWriMo was just what I needed to goad me into buckling down and writing 50,000 words. I just validated my novel, and I'm feeling pretty proud of myself.

By no means do I have a finished novel. I'm not sure how anyone could in 30 days. But I have a draft of a whole bunch of words to work with. And I don't know about other writers, but for me, it's that initial creation that's the hard part. Editing? Sure, it's time consuming. But when I already have "raw data" to work with, I can sit there and move it around all day long. It's the creation that's the killer.

I'm sure this is work that I'll sit on for a long time, but in the meantime, it feels good to know that I dedicated myself to something, worked hard at it for 30 days, and reached a goal. Writing is a habit, and NaNo forced me into it.

Poem - "Really Coming"

I am featured today over on Napalm and Novocain, with a poem I wrote about eleven years ago when I was going through a difficult break-up. The theme of Napalm and Novocain is "love's aftermath," so this piece fit right in.

"Really Coming" at Napalm and Novocain

An Old Friend Once Told Me...

"Love is two things," he
said: "unconditional, and
uncompromising."

NaNoWriMo

I'm a first-time participant in NaNoWriMo this year! Looking forward to having some outside motivation to just sit down and write. I'm a constant editor, so hopefully I'll be able to put that part of me aside and just make the words happen.

It might be kind of cheat-y, but I'm going to be writing a memoir-type piece about the years in college I, ahem, strayed from the straight-and-narrow. I doubt this will turn into the great creative work of my life, but I feel like it's a story I've been carrying around with me for too long, and I just need to write it out of me.

If you're a fellow NaNo'er, look me up!

Fall

Leaves fall from their trees;
When they find they can't hold on.
And that's beautiful?