A Writer's Way

Welcome to my blog!

Here you'll find personal essays, editorial tips, craft lessons, a bit of travel, books I'm reading, explorations of my own novel-writing process, fun and interesting things I’ve learned, and the occasional recipe (because even writers have to eat). For sure some knitting will happen, and most likely a bit of sewing, too. And you’ll get to meet Samson, my senior editor.

I'm so glad you're here

Polishing Edits

Dear Vi, It’s been awhile since I’ve mentioned the manuscript. Were you wondering what’s up with it? Well, at the end of February I sent it out to a few friends who volunteered to be beta readers. While they were reading, I put the manuscript away and moved on to other things. I felt so…

Fire!

Dear Vi, It’s foggy this morning. Outside my window, wisps of fog stream past like smoke from a chimney. Wait… maybe it really is smoke. I get up to check. Nope, it’s fog. Relieved, I take another sip of coffee. And then I burst into tears. A couple of months ago, I woke up in…

Tea and Applesauce at Dawn

Dear Vi, I woke up early this morning. I tried to go back to sleep, I really did. I arranged my pillow, rearranged my pillow, stuck my foot out, turned over, turned back. You know the routine. Finally, I got up. It wasn’t really early anymore…not quite six. I turned on the bedside lamp and…

Letters to Vi

Dear Vi, Blogging has always felt a little bit awkward to me. From the beginning, I’ve wanted to address each post as though it were a letter. But it always felt awkward. A letter to whom? And yet it feels just as strange to open a new page and simply start talking. I’m old-school that…

Knitting and writing a Novel are more alike than you think!

Did I tell you that I finished my novel again? This isn’t the first time I’ve finished it, of course. The first finished draft was the equivalent of a scarf knitted up in open lace-work. Silky threads to hold everything together, but full of holes. When it was as ready as I could get it,…