Linda K Sienkiewicz

Writing life, line by line

To remain open and quiet in the fertile darkness

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  “You never know what's around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you've climbed a mountain.” ― Tom Hiddleston The urge to explore Every path into the woods calls to me. When I'm riding along the Paint Creek Trail or Clinton River Trail, I often feel the urge to abandon my … [Read more...]

Beyond the Easy Gesture in Fiction

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Oh, those flashing eyes! The other day, I laughed when I read the recent tweet of a fellow writer: “There's a lot of 'flashing eyes' in this draft. Need to fix.” Our fictional characters certainly do flash their eyes. They also roll them, grind their jaws, blink, sneer, grimace, and smile in varying degrees from crookedly to unabashed. They shrug, cross their arms, tremble, and shake their … [Read more...]

Endings are never easy

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What if... How many times have you enjoyed a book right up to the end, but when you closed it, you felt unsatisfied? Not in the sense that the ending wasn't "happy," but rather that the last chapter seemed slapped together? Or predictable? Or missing something? Endings are not easy. I recall when my agent mentioned she thought my novel might need an additional scene at the end to “round things … [Read more...]

12 Tips to Survive a Book Festival

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It's all about engagement! Every time I'm at a book festival or author fair, I learn something new. When I shared a table with author Sylvia Hubbard at Sterlingfest, I learned to encourage people to pick up your book and browse through it. "It's okay to touch it!" Sylvia told a man intently studying the cover. When he started reading with evident concentration, she asked him what part he was … [Read more...]

Sacral Torsion

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Back pain is more than a nuisance. It’s horrible to get up from a chair or out of the car to find yourself unable to stand straight. My back pain began in 2011. I don't know what made me thought I could lift, or even drag, an oversize duffle bag packed with magazines and books with one arm, but that's what I tried. Full stop. The bag didn't even budge. Instead, it was me that gave way. … [Read more...]