Just a short post to say I'm finally participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)! Wish me luck and check back here daily to see my ongoing word count--I'm shooting for 50,000 words minimum by November 30.
My Physical Book Addiction— A Rambling Confession of Guilt (Not!)
I like to tell stories about how I read voraciously as a child. Even when I put down my current book to eat breakfast or lunch, I would find myself searching out the words on the cereal box or the mayonnaise jar. I read everywhere. All the time. I couldn’t stop. It was a torture …
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Avoid Muse Envy: Woo your Creative Soul!
Valentine’s Day is a wonderful event for lovers. Roses, cards, candy, and starry-eyed glances are the order of the day. But what if you’re a solo act? Or you and your romantic partner are in the midst of a nasty spat? The entire day feels like a waste, doesn’t it? It seems like everyone in …
Ghosts of Scrooges Past
I've read Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" at least twenty times and I've seen nearly every film and television version of the story, from the first silent movie depictions to Disney's most recent CGI-animated monstrosity. I enjoy the 1938 film with Gene Lockhart as the perfect Bob Cratchit, but my favorite classic version is the …
If Jane Austen and Charles Dickens had a baby…Middlemarch!
I've got a confession to make. It isn't an easy one for an avid reader and writer with a degree in English from a fine liberal arts college. I've always prided myself on my broadness of view and quality of thought--but here goes... I hated Middlemarch the first time I read it. There, I've said …
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Signs and Portents
It often happens that I become discouraged with the progress of my writing career. There are so many interruptions and distractions. After all, my writing hat is only one of many that I must wear--I am also a mother, a wife, a friend, an employee, a supervisor, a musician. Work deadlines, dinner menus, doctor's appointments, …
First Lines First
I don’t remember the first line of every book I’ve ever read. In fact, when I’m wearing my “reader” hat, I’m usually so eager to get into the story that I fly through those first words with shameful speed. But, as a “writer” I’ve analyzed first lines to the nth degree. I’ve read articles and …
A Writer’s Thank You Note
I was inspired by my friends at TeachingAuthors.com to write this post. I recently came across a piece of my own journal writing from about ten years ago. I had been reading Joseph Campbell at the time and was in a kind of existentialist reverie when I penned the entry. It is a bit wordy …
A Welcome Autumn Bowl of Chicken Soup!
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Hooked on Hockey is now available online and in stores. In addition to my own “Game Scents”, check out some of the offerings of my compatriots—Matt Duchene, Michael Brennan, and Tammy Crosby.
Might as Well Face it I’m Addicted to Blogs
A couple of months ago, I purged myself of most of the way, way, WAY too many blogs I'd been following. The number of posts I received were overwhelming and I felt my own precious writing time being sucked away as I tried to do justice to the writing of others. In the end, I …
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Leanne Pankuch 