Linda K Sienkiewicz

Writing life, line by line

You are always a writer: motivation

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Are you unable to write? Don’t worry if you fear you've lost motivation. I don't know who said it, but "writing is like a disease. It may go into remission, but it never leaves you." This sounds like a negative analogy (because as author Lev Raphael says, "writing is a gift, not a disease") but it’s also true. Let me tell you my story. I stepped away from my writing for nearly two years … [Read more...]

Never a singer but I can dream

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Dreams: A few weeks ago I blogged about finding a blue notebook that I'd kept when I taught journaling at a women's shelter over twenty years ago. I wrote along with the women during writing prompts. I found this entry, titled "Dreams" Reality vs Dreams My first novel was published about fifteen years after I wrote this list. I now have a second novel manuscript, Love and Other … [Read more...]

Literary vs Genre Fiction

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Give it to me straight: A writer on Twitter/X asked: "What do you understand by the term 'literary fiction' in three words or fewer." Among the comments, I read: Ouch! That's a whole lotta negativity. Further complicating lit fic's apparent reputation as tireless trash, Wikipedia adds to the burn with this definition: "Literary fiction is often used as a synonym for literature, … [Read more...]

My Big Ask

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The importance of reviews Friends, if you've read Gordy and the Ghost Crab, my poetry book Sleepwalker, or my novel In the Context of Love, please hop over to Amazon and write a few words in a reader review. I'm not asking you just to feed my ego. Reviews mean EVERYTHING to the algorithm gods. Here is why: In a market where readers have so many choices, the importance of reader reviews … [Read more...]

The Fear is Real

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Shake it up: Here I am in Tucson, Arizona, smiling hugely from way up high. I look giddy with happiness. Truthfully, I was giddy with fear. You can't see how hard I'm shaking. My entire being! With my heart in my throat! I remember entertaining an irrational fear that the wind might blow me off, and a brief concern that my husband or someone else might push me, you know, just for giggles. He'd … [Read more...]