Susan Sachs Lipman’s program in March gave me lots of ideas for my as-yet-uncreated website, and my needs-to-be-updated blog site, as well as the impetus to become an expert in my field (what, you didn’t realize you need to know about quilting science fiction?). I left the meeting feeling enlightened and energized. So what should …
No, I don’t mean odds. The odds are against me would be a cliché, not an acceptable title for a modern blogger. See, there it is again—the OG in blogger—a person who writes a blog. That would be me as I hurl this post into the blogosphere (another OG) where blogs reside. Add a single …
6:30 Repeat five times, “Today is the day I am going to work on my NOVEL.” 6:40 Brush teeth. Check email. Oh boy, 40 new messages. Delete 39. 6:50 Wake up son for school, start breakfast, tidy up kitchen, run a load of laundry, drive son to school. 8:00 Check Internet. Must know more about sinkhole in …
I read a column by SciFi great Robert Silverberg about his writing desk, the one he has used for fifty years. It’s gray steel, with drawers, made in America. My desk is also gray and made in America (by my husband). I’m not sure what Silverberg envisioned when he installed the desk in his New York …
I’m calling 2013 the year of relearning. Two weeks ago, I relearned the value of adding tags to blogs. A few days ago, I relearned the value of networking. The lead judge for California Writers Club Tri-Valley high school writing contest, Lynn Goodwin, conducted a free writing workshop for students on February 5. The contest and …
I read an article in Smithsonian magazine that said the rules of English grammar we cherish and curse (sometimes in the same breath) come from a misguided attempt to impose Latin structure on a Germanic root. Well, bite my neck and call me Susie (as my grandfather used to say, and don’t ask me who …
I write a weekly blog about cleaning my sewing room. It’s been running for three years and the sewing room isn’t remotely tidy, so sometimes I explore other topics. A recent blog was about the plastic bag ban in Alameda County. Since the ban went into effect this month, and I have a huge collection …
Old Dog, New Tricks: The evolution of a writer by Lani Longshore Read More »
Websites. We create them, nurture them, and sometimes want to kill them when something doesn’t work. I was trying to post a California Writers Club “Authors Spotlight” date to my website Events page, but the stupid site kept dropping the date. I tried everything I could think of, but the date just wouldn’t post. I finally …
Sage advice to writers, “Never say never.” That prompts another never–never say always in a novel unless you can prove it. “She always washes her hair on Friday evening.” Oh? What about the Friday scene when the protagonist was hospitalized from a skiing accident? Every is another word to omit. “You can set your clock by my neighbor who brings in …
I brainstormed with Dan Casner about Robot Garden, specifically community groups that might want to play in a warehouse full of tools and people who know how to use them. Near the end of the conversation, I mentioned wanting to design a futuristic tank that I could make from fabric. That led to a discussion of …
