In the last few weeks, I’ve been trying out something new – writing by dictation. In fact, I’m writing right now using dictation software. Specifically, Dragon. The concept, according to a lot of writers who are switching over right now, is that you often can talk a great deal faster than you can type. Writers […]
Life returns to normal
For better or for worse, eventually the storm subsides, the waves calm, the sun rises, and it’s a new day. That’s not to say that everything is perfect, or that the next storm isn’t right around the corner. But for a moment – a small, quiet moment – you get a chance to breathe. I […]
The Week From Hell
So it’s been kind of a hard week. Beginning on Thursday, the baby got sick with bad congestion – which turned into vomiting, lots and lots of vomiting. Fun. There was a trip to the doctor somewhere in there, some good intentions and lots of scrubbing vomit from the floor, but mostly it was comforting […]
Charmed and Amazed
I am sitting here staring at a pile of envelopes addressed to me. They arrived while I was in Italy, and each is from a different city–one even from New Zealand. Each is handwritten in a different hand, on different cards and handmade drawings and happy stationary. And none is signed except with the name […]
Teaching Classes
Hi all! I will be teaching a class on Publishing 101 and one on Worldbuilding March 11th and March 18th, respectively, at the Neighborhood Studio in Norcross, GA. For all the info, check it out at their website here: https://www.neighborhoodstudioatlanta.com/creative-writing. Thanks! Alex
Writing Exercise
So I’ve told you that I’ve come to Venice with writer friends. Inevitably, the writer friends and I sit down and teach each other writing, work on projects, and do writing exercises as a group. This time my good friend Ann brought a series of perfume oils for us each to smell. Smell is one […]
Renewal in Venice
A few months ago a good writer friend of mine started making noises about going to Venice, Italy in February (now), and having me and some other friends come along to split the costs of the Airbnb house. Venice has *always* been on my bucket list, so I figured out how to get the money […]
Nonlinear New Project
I’ve been working on an interesting project this week as a break from the Mindspace world while my brain simmers over the plot. Telltale Games is hosting a big creative video game writing workshop in March, and I’ve been working on the application. I’d love to work with them, if that comes out of the […]
Eureka!
So it turns out that my multi-tasking brain was trying to tell me something! And I have finally figured it out. As I’ve told my students in the Productivity for Writers webinar and class (both through the Odyssey Writing Workshop), when you get stuck, it’s always because there’s something wrong. I assumed there was something wrong with […]
Productivity, Focus, and that Foggy Feeling…
It is widely believed that the brain rewires during pregnancy, in part to allow the mother to tune into her baby’s cry under nearly any circumstances (including unconsciousness). I have found this to be so, and (combined with my genetic shortage of folic acid) likely explains why I felt so stupid and fuzzy-headed during pregnancy. […]
