Musings
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Sunday Snippet: The Oh, Hell, I Almost Forgot Edition
I know, I know. It’s Sunday Snippet time and I’m here editing away and dammit! It hit me that I hadn’t posted my blog yet. Is 2:30 on Sunday afternoon too late? I’m saying no. I have a list of blog prompts for each month of the year, which I do not consider cheating, merely assisting. Sometimes, when I’ve got nothin’, like today, these prompts are my best source of inspiration. Today’s is “What are the best things about fall?” This is a terrific one for me because I love fall. Right off, I’m a fall baby–born in late September, along with my brother, my grandmother, my sister, my brother-in-law,…
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Sunday Snippet: The Lake Life Reality Edition
We are in our 10th year, 11th season here at the lake. It’s hard to believe we’ve had our cottage for so long, particularly given that we waited for so long to buy one. It seemed like whenever we were ready to buy, cottages were just out of our reach and when they were in our reach, we weren’t in a position to consider buying one. Ten years ago, when this marriage-long dream came true, we were overjoyed. We still are, although the realities of lake life are a little different from the fantasies. The fantasies didn’t include have to scrub the cottage down a couple of times a year…
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Sunday Snippet: The Five Memorable Days Edition
My friend Liz is a great source of inspiration, especially when it comes to blogging. When I don’t know what to write, she gives me fantastic ideas and one of her best is “Do a list.” Lists are always fun and something y’all can participate in, too. Today, I’m pulling this idea from a writing prompt that we used a few years ago on the Word Wranglers–telling about our five most memorable days, but the trick was that we couldn’t use the usual Pollyanna days–like our wedding day or the day our kids or grandkids were born or the day we signed our first book contract. Those are givens. So…
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Sunday Snippet: The Too Excited to Breathe & Giveaway Edition
It’s coming up! We are a mere 5 days away from Word Wranglers writer’s retreat in North Carolina and the four of us who are able to attend are about to pop, we’re so excited. First of all, outside of Liz and me, we’ve never met in person. So I get to meet Margie on Wednesday when I go pick her up at the airport, Liz gets to meet her when she picks us up and we get on the road, then all of us get to meet Janie when we arrive in NC. Liz and I travel together frequently, and we’re anticipating all the fun we’ll have adding Margie…
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Sunday Snippet: A Garden Tour Edition
Confessions time: My brain is mush. I have nothing brilliant or even halfway intelligent to offer this morning. I wish I did. So, this edition of the Sunday Snippet is compliments of my genius writing bestie, Liz Flaherty, who said to me, “Take a picture and write about it.” You get several pictures as I give you a little tour of my gardens or as Liz calls them, my “flowerbeds.” One day, either she or I will explore the difference in those two terms, but not today. Today, I’m going to show you my flowers. First, here’s a shot of my incredible front garden–the window you see is my office…
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Sunday Snippet: The Mid-July Gratitude Check-In Edition
Every couple of years, I break out my copy of Sara Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance. She calls it “A Daybook of Comfort and Joy,” and it truly is. If you’ve never read the book, I recommend it highly and it’s even available as an e-book! I downloaded it to my Kindle a few years ago, which makes it easy to have wherever I am, but I’m still partial to the hardback book because it has my notes in it from previous years, and it’s cool to read those, too. I’ve been doing the Simple Abundance meditations this year because I need that centering after the last eighteen months. Part of…
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Sunday Snippet: The Lazy, Rainy Weekend Edition
And so it is–a lazy, rainy weekend at the lake. It’s too icky outside for a boat ride or a swim. Too gloomy and stormy for a walk, so I’m sitting here at my computer contemplating what to write. I did something this morning I do so rarely that I can’t remember the last time it happened. I stayed in bed and read for two hours. My normal schedule is to get up at six and write for a couple of hours–even before I make coffee or face the world. It’s a good habit to have and I’m glad I do it because otherwise, nothing at all would get written.…
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Guest Author Stacey Agdern Talks about How Your Culture Affects Your Writing
I am so happy to turn the blog over to pal and fellow Tule author Stacey Agdern today. Stacey is an award-winning former bookseller who has reviewed romance novels in multiple formats and given talks about various aspects of the romance genre. She incorporates Jewish characters and traditions into her stories so that people who grew up like she did can see themselves take center stage on the page. She lives in New York, not far from her favorite hockey team’s practice facility. “In fact, I’d argue that religion always affects the course of a story. Even in its absence, there is a consequence on the world and how the…
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Sunday Snippet: The How Is It Sunday Again and I’m Meandering Edition
Holy cats, kids, it’s Sunday again! No idea how that happened. It’s been an eventful week here at casa Reinhardt, although as I look back on the last seven days, what sticks out most is work. I’ve been working a lot this month of June and now as July appears on the horizon, I find myself wondering what happened to the first third of summer. Does that ever happen to you? Time just sort of slipping away while you’re trying to plan your life? I keep thinking that one day I’ll be organized and I’ll get to sketching classes and lunch with friends, old and new and time with sister…
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Sunday Snippet: The Discovery Edition
Several years ago, I attended an Indiana RWA event—Bob Mayer’s Write it Forward workshop. It was inspiring and Bob’s book, The Novel Writer’s Toolkit is one of my go-to references. He has lots of valuable things to say about writing and the process of writing. Another mentor is Lani Diane Rich, whose Chipperish Media’s How Story Works podcasts are an invaluable source of inspiration and education for any writer. From Lani, I learned about discovery—what begins my process when I write. All books begin with an idea, as Mayer says. That’s “the heart of your story.” For me, it’s mostly characters in my head banging around, begging for their stories…