31 Dec 2012
For Auld Lang Syne
It was 2007. I was working a particularly unfulfilling job in a law firm in London. With apologies to my former employees, it really was. You had employed a law graduate desperately clinging to the vestiges of his PhD plans, who was only working in document production because it paid reasonably well and it wasn’t a job that I found particularly taxing. Sorry, but that’s the truth. August is a... read more
31 Dec 2012
Thanks for All the Fish
The Beginning It was almost 7 years ago that I first became involved with the blog that would eventually change and grow into the blog you are now reading. I answered a call on a friend’s blog for weekly writers for a new blog about writing. In March of 2006, Write Stuff launched, with me as the Tuesday columnist. I had the third post. Later that year I created the [Fiction] Friday prompt. And... read more
30 Dec 2012
The Last Good-Bye
Just hear this and then I’ll go You gave me more to live for More than you’ll ever know ~ Jeff Buckley Thursday night I went to pieces. It hit me that my biggest life door was preparing to swing shut—forever. My writing partner Adam Byatt (who I met here as a [fiction] Friday punter in 2010!) sat and held a space while everything poured out… down my fingertips, across the wire... read more
30 Dec 2012
Finality
I am writing this article as the new era of the world is dawning; that is to say post-Mayan Apocalyptic date. Admit it, deep down, somewhere there was a thought; even for a second, which sparked the question—”What if it IS the end of the world?” It’s that finality which stops us in our tracks and forces us to review where we have been. Did all your unfinished projects, business and... read more
28 Dec 2012
Write Nothing
My history with Write Anything began with the relationship I had with Paul Anderson and Jodi Cleghorn of eMergent. I wrote a short story for the “Yin and Yang Book” anthology, which led to a guest post for Write Anything. That in turn led to being asked to join the regular pool of bloggers for this site. For a year, I wrote one post a month, mainly on writing: tools, advice, angst, experiences.... read more
28 Dec 2012
Writing Out of Time
That sounds like some play on the title of a historical drama or time shift murder mystery, doesn’t it? But, no. If you’ve read many of my posts, you already know my theme: where does the bleepin’ time bleepin’ put itself! My goals since January have evolved, shaped by the time contraints of my current lifestyle – my family needs, the classes I teach, the barriers life puts up... read more
27 Dec 2012
I Am Still A Writer
Excuse me while I get something off my chest. A writer doesn’t have to write all the time. There. Chew on that, self-made-expert-writer types who seemingly exist only to look down from lofty branches of the interwebz and hurl scorn at those amongst the leaf litter who declare “I want to write”. I am sick of the persistent diatribe out there that you’re not a writer, unless you... read more
27 Dec 2012
Writing like a Person of Color
See, that was even hard to type. I backspaced over “Colored Person.” Here in the US, that particular phrase carries some bad scobies. “Person of Color” means exactly the same thing, right? Wrong. But don’t ask me why. As a writer, I try to be sensitive to the nuances of vocabulary, but I can’t always explain them. Even, or especially, when it’s an issue that... read more
