In a place where the oak canopy opens and there is full sunshine, the Seminole-Wekiva Trail asks what you want before you die. A little apart from the murals of Paint the Trail, a section is painted with chalkboard paint. There's chalk to write your dreams. What do you want to do before you die? I stopped when … Continue reading Dreams and Summer Camp (NaNoWriMo)
Summer is ending, and Autumn dates and deadlines are suddenly upon me. It’s also: 14 days until the first 10 pages of my short story are due for the critique session at the Florida Heritage Book Festival Critique Session. 37 days until the Florida Heritage Book Festival and Writers Conference. This will be my first time attending … Continue reading 74 Days Until Halloween – 75 Days Until NaNoWriMo
Welcome to Day 20 of Camp NaNoWriMo! How does your camp look? Is your tent still dry? Provisions well stocked? Any interesting interactions with wildlife? I've been putting all my writing energy into focusing on my novel, editing and adding scenes to improve its structure. That's resulted in me wandering off in the woods a bit, … Continue reading Camp NaNoWriMo – Mosquitoes
Welcome Campers and lurkers! Day 8 of Camp NaNoWriMo and the day is full of activities. As I've posted before, I'm editing and adding to my draft novel for Camp NaNoWriMo. Most of the story is set in Florida woods next to a blackwater river. It's a setting I can see vividly in my mind - … Continue reading Camp NaNoWriMo – Lurking in the Woods
So far, Camp NaNoWriMo is rocking along for me. I'm working on editing my novel from November's NaNoWriMo. I've never edited something this long before. I've printed it out so I can scribble on it. Yep, this stack of paper isn't imposing at all. The great thing I've found is that I've had enough time away … Continue reading Camp NaNoWriMo Day 3 – Editing, Writing, Editing, Writing
This is my writing scarf. It's my writing scarf because it's a little spooky and my family gave it to me to wear while I'm writing. I wore it occasionally, and then put it on for the first day of NaNoWriMo last November - great for keeping warm in the chilly spot where I sit in the … Continue reading Writing Talismans and Camp NaNoWriMo
I’m continuing with my post about entering my first short story contest, and I’m sharing happy news. I attended the Lake County Bookfest last week, where they announced that my short story will be published in an electronic compilation along with eleven others. Though I wasn’t chosen as a winner or honorable mention in the short … Continue reading Insights From My First Short Story Contest (II)
I’m taking a break today from poetry and spooky shorts to share my recent experience with entering a short story contest. This was the first short story that I’d submitted to a contest, and I went into the experience thinking it was a good way to push myself to do something new, to take the … Continue reading Insights From My First Short Story Contest (I)
Daniel Kraus's recent article about authors who write longhand really struck me. The authors describe how writing longhand slows them down and makes their writing tighter. They describe the tactile satisfaction they get from the task, how the work they produce is tangible. Their descriptions are compelling When I write (fiction, poetry, or reports for my day job), I typically write on … Continue reading Writing Longhand, Editing with Doodles and Diagrams
I'm editing a story I wrote last year, with the plan to submit it to a short story contest that's looking for fantasy/paranormal/speculative fiction. I'm happy with it, but I know it needs more in places...and also less. The main character has been talking to me today, and it feels like we are catching up … Continue reading Pushing
Victoria Nations 