Writers Block Instant Cure

I had a severe case of writer's block today, so I browsed through my old folders looking for something, anything, to inspire me to finish chapter eleven of Precinct 9. Nothing...

So then, I played Candy Crush on Facebook. It didn't help. It only fed my O.C.D. until I ran out of lives. Seven minutes before I get another life?!

Anyway, the seven minute wait didn't leave me with nothing to do. I searched the internet looking for guidance on how to cure this minor blockage and found this video. So, while you're watching this informative clip, I'm going to finish banging out my chapter.

Make sure you book mark it as suggested. It's a great reminder. Please share this with your writer friends.

A Bittersweet Mother's Day

I'm not saying Happy Mother's Day this year for many reasons, so I hope my friends and family will understand. I have so much Mother's Day happiness with all things going well in my life. I wish to share these things with you, but I also want to go a little deeper into this day, because it's not always a positive thing, but it is always a special day for many reasons. 

I want to share the diversity of what has become my Mother's Day this year, a very special day, I promise you!

My youngest stepson, Chris, and his wife, Kasey, had their daughter last year. Bailee experienced her first Mother's Day. I'm not posting photos as I've not yet asked permission. However, I will definitely update this post when I've asked and they have granted. So, revisit!

My older stepson, Timmy, and his wife, Kelly, had their son this year. Levi experienced his first Mother's Day. I think I have permission to post this photo, originally published on Facebook. I will ask forgiveness if not, and remove it if chastised. Isn't it easier to ask for forgiveness rather than permission?

I welcomed a new daughter into my life this Mother's Day weekend, a perfect companion for my son, Cameron. Who knows what's best for their baby better than anyone? A mother! I'm so happy that my son met someone so caring and patient. Photos coming soon, I promise!

Kristina's mother, Stephanie Senter, did an amazing job on the decorations for the wedding, and her floral arrangements were spectacular. Another amazing mother, stepping in to support her daughter on a special day. More photos to come! 

My own daughter, Chelsey, amazes me year after year, as she grows into a beautiful and independent woman. She's determined to succeed as being her own person. A mother's pride I will not hide. She moves into her own apartment the 1st of July. I expect her to come home often to watch the occasional chick flick!

I also dedicate this post to my own mother, who passed away in September of 2006. I know she would have loved to experience these things with me. More important, I have an author friend whom I follow on a regular basis at High Heels and Hot Flashes (imagine that, I'm menopausal). Debra's daughter's last Mother's Day is today because her daughter has a week left in a fight against AIDS. Because I cannot imagine the pain and struggle of losing a child, I will take this day and pray for my friend, a fellow writer.

Please remember all those mothers who are struggling in the world today and pay tribute to them as well. It's not a Happy Mother's Day for all. Though we are grateful and proud, we are also humble, and we pray for our fellow moms out there who may be suffering for any number of reasons.

Bless you moms out there! I love you all.

W is for Writer Quotations

I'm sharing with you the most inspirational and fun quotes about writing from some of my favorite writers. Please feel free to share yours!


"To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man." ― Aristotle


"Writing a novel is like making love, but it's also like having a tooth pulled. Pleasure and pain. Sometimes it's like making love while having a tooth pulled." ― Dean Koontz

"This is a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullshit." ― Stephen King


"In order to learn, one must change one's mind." ― Orson Scott Card


"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." ― Toni Morrison


"The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them." ― Stephen King


"Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: it's always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins." ― Neil Gaiman


"Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule." ― Stephen King

"There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." ― W. Somerset Maugham


"Writing is a way of talking without being interrupted." ― Jules Renard


"My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way." ― Ernest Hemingway


"I am a story teller. If I wanted to send a message I would have written a sermon." ― Philip Pullman


"Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way." ― Ray Bradbury


"I write for the same reason I breathe ... because if I didn't, I would die." ― Isaac Asimov


"Writing is utter solitude, the descent into the cold abyss of oneself." ― Franz Kafka


"Writing is the only thing that when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else." ― Gloria Steinem

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V is for Voice - You Might Be a Redneck

Of the many writing courses I've taken and articles I've read, one thing they all stress as the quintessential element to master, is the finding of your voice.

To me, this was always confusing because I've been attempting to learn the craft of writing fiction. Shouldn't my individual characters have their own voices? But how do you find your natural voice no matter what it is you are writing? What is voice anyway? It's your written prose minus all those words you think will make you sound important and smart. Forget all that, just be yourself. That's what your readers want to hear.

Voice can be described as how you sound when you write the same story as another writer, but with the words you've grown to know and use in your everyday vocabulary. If you're a singer, it's how differently you sing the National Anthem from the next artist. Think Roseanne Bar vs. Christina Aguilera vs. Steve Tyler. They sing the same words, yet the song takes on a whole new sound.

In the same sense, the writer's voice will introduce a new pitch or tone with word choices, dialect, and timing. Two writers can write the same story, but the read will be different if they have voices which are distinguishable from one another. There are some word choices which make most voices sound the same.

The truly unique voices are devoid of commonalities which make the tone boring or condescending. The writer wanting to sound important or intelligent rather than tell a story or make a point, produces a narrative which is preachy or contrived. That's what happens to us when writing rules are enforced. Maybe that's why they say to not think about the rules of writing when drafting. Write what you want to write. Get it down. That's where your voice will happen.

I witnessed this over the weekend. It wasn’t in a novel or an article on writing. I ran into a classified ad. I immediately discovered, in the simplest terms, the nature of voice. This is who you are, where you came from, and what the world will know as you, without a face. Whether it's you the author, or you the narrator, we hear you. And here's a test on voice. Read the first ad.

I hear Jeff Foxworthy preparing for his yard sale next weekend, “If you put a price tag on them chester drawers. Uh, let me say that properly,” and with a more proper choice of words, he says, “the chest of drawers,” and then back to his original voice, “...you might be a redneck.”

If you enjoyed this, please read my other articles in this past April's A-Z Challenge.

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U is for Underestimating the American Spirit

I saw this photograph on Facebook a week or two ago and I immediately snatched it for this post. I didn't even have to read the story to understand the meaning of the photo; it spoke volumes to me. It says to me, "My life isn't over, I'm in control. Bring it."

However, when I read this story about one victim of the Boston Marathon bombing, I didn't want to leave it as just a "share" on Facebook. I wanted it to be an addition to my post about underestimating the American spirit, because that is exactly what the world has witnessed here.

This isn't the only photograph which has touched me in the past year. There have been a few. I don't know how old these photographs are, but they each reached me at a pivotal point in my writing journey, so I want them all here in my compilation of this article about progress and inspiration.

As most of my friends and family know, I come from a military background. My father was a retired Marine. My husband is a retired Marine. My son is an Army Veteran who served in Iraq and who is now medically retired. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that this photo also inspires my post today.

Here I see this super sexy guy, and he's confident, determined, and very much still in the game. This is the American spirit I see and appreciate. It reminds me of what this country stands for. Not what it has become. There are still some who will never give in, who will always remain hopeful for our future, and who, despite their own setbacks, will continue to inspire and give hope to others.


Sometime last year, a regular mammogram revealed an area of concern and my doctor scheduled a punch biopsy. I wasn't sure what to expect, but immediately I began thinking of my options, my husband having gone through a cancer diagnosis 2 years earlier.

That is why when I saw this photograph for the first time, I was filled with hope and I thought, "If I come out of this with a double mastectomy, I'm going to finally give in and get that tattoo I've always wanted of the fire dragon wrapped around a castle." I don't care if you think it's lame, Diane. Getting back to the nature of this post.

We are divided by many things. Politics gets us pitted against one another. So does religion, racial inequalities, gender inequality, and so many other divisive elements for which we refuse to enter into dialogue for whatever reason. Maybe it's a tool for those who benefit from the division. Remember when your kids did it? Divide and conquer.

We parents knew how to deal with it: the united front. Let us not turn our heads to the divisive, but see it for what it is and move along. Let us see the truly beautiful in people who still believe. There is hope. You just have to step toward the side of positive and let's create many instances of this type of media, rather than accepting the feed of those nuggets which divide and conquer, because what are we trying to conquer here anyway? Share and re-tweet positives!

The inclusion of these photos into my post today is my way of sharing what I believe is important in healing as a nation and reflecting as individuals. It's important that you know, regardless of your need to be right, your need to win, or your need to be on top of any situation, there are people who have won while our eyes have been shut.

Take a moment to reflect on what it means to truly win at life. What strengths in people have you witnessed in the past? Have they inspired you to look beyond the bleak and foreboding obstacles which threaten your happiness?

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