Have you ever been young and stupid?Boy, howdy have I. A thousand years ago, I was convinced I was unlovable. I had an associate who was a romance novel fanatic and all her machinations about the wonderful world of love made it worse. I convinced myself that I would find…
-
-
Howdy! While the earlier part of this week was fraught with weirdness, today has turned a corner. Not only have I been quite productive (and dare I say giddy — is that unbecoming of a Cave Mistress such as myself?), I have a publisher and agent who have placed the…
-
Riding to and from the gym, it was a J Dilla day. For the uninitiated, James Dewitt Yancey was a powerhouse in the underground hip-hop scene in Detroit, who died way too young. I fell upon a mix of his stuff a few days back and the rhythmic drum beats…
-
Stay tuned for the next installment …Oh. Right. I’m supposed to tell you about this installment. I needed to get the plug for the next book out of my system. Yes — I got to the last page and was ready to send along an email to the author, asking for…
-
Imagine with me this ehem, fictional scenario: You are supposed to be cleaning, at a meeting, working, going to the gym, taking the dog for a walk, filing your taxes, driving your great aunt Susie to the dentist doing something and instead, you sneak off and stick your nostrils in a book.It’s…
-
There must be something unique about a person who holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in writing who develops a writing program called the Do-It-Yourself MFA. Gabriela Pereira identifies herself not only as a writer and teacher, but as a word nerd whose goal is not to take over…
-
Our intrepid word nerd leader, Gabriela, asked this question today: Tell a story about a time when you had to honor your reality. The behind-the-scenes here is that life (often) intervenes in our writing schedules. Here’s an example:Leave us go back to … wait. This is happening now, live and…
-
Leave us go back to elementary phys-ed class in school.Remember the kid who, in dramatic fashion, figured out ways to avoid the physical and the education portion of the intended activities? He or she might have come up with all sorts of interesting rationales each day, like using a metal…
-
When Madness dropped the song from which the title of this post came, I quickly made my way to the nearest vinyl emporium (where are my Rio Mall nerds? I know you’re out there) and purchased the 45 RPM. I played it until I wore the grooves off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmezIIrFQmYYou’re welcome for…
-
Ah, Gabriela and her compelling questions … this week, she asked us to rewind and reflect on how we became writers. Specifically: When did you realize that you wanted to write? What motivated you to get started?Leave us go back about a thousand years to when yours truly was in elementary…