I Vacuum, Therefore I Am: Magic was in the air in a crowded coffeehouse 18 years ago when I first heard poet Margo LaGatutta read. Her poem, “I Vacuum, Therefore I Am,” gave me goose bumps. It was an electric moment. I had just started writing poetry, and, somehow, I knew Margo was bound to be an important person in my life. When the short, round-faced woman, dressed in … [Read more...]
A Story Best Told in Third Person
The struggle over POV is real Have you ever struggled over what point-of-view is going to work best for your narrator? I recently changed a novel manuscript from first person POV (I) to third person (she). The reason for this is my narrator is a deeply flawed character who's not always so nice, and I feared that, in first person, readers might tire of her. When studying POV in my MFA program, … [Read more...]
To squee or not to squee…
I vacillate over using LOL, unless I actually did laugh out loud, but I’d rather write “Ha ha!” A long string, as my writer pal, Erin Enberg, points out, can be especially effective, as in Hahahahahahahahaha. Lorrie Moore wrote an entire page of hahaha in a short story (the title escapes me. Lorrie is also great at turning a cliché on its head). On rare occasions I have used ROFL, but I much … [Read more...]
Buxton Village Books at OBX
A rainy day at the beach A rainy day is perfect for browsing a bookstore on the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina. Pouring rain, thunder and lightning made it a day to curl up inside with a good read. I usually bring my own reading material on vacations, but it had been a few years since I’d browsed through Buxton Village Books, so my daughter and I decided to grab an umbrella and … [Read more...]
Build a laptop shelf for your exercise bike
Even if you exercise regularly, but sit for most of the rest of your day, you’re still at risk for higher cholesterol levels and heart disease, according to studies reported on NPR. This doesn't bode well for us writers, who intend to spend as much time sitting at our desks as possible. If I only had a laptop shelf So what can we do? It dawned on me that I could ride my recumbent bicycle, which … [Read more...]
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