The story I want to write has twisted itself into an indecipherable pretzel in my mind. Extra salty. I have no idea where to begin. But a good writer would not let such a technicality stand in her way. I will not be stymied by a baked good! I opt…
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All posts tagged Writing
The Mind and the Snooze Bar
The pounding bright, white light of my laptop screen screams at me: "Something! Anything!" It mocks me: "Just write words. You remember words , right?" It antagonizes me: "Someone else is out there right now, licking the envelope of their submittal to the publisher. And you're eating string cheese and watching…
Leave the Lady-Face in the Locker Room
How can I tell you what the hard leather felt like in my hands? It was something I lived. Sucking the cold air deep into myself, holding it inside until it was warm, watching the exhale hang before my face. And then the doors creaking open. That hollow sound of…
Fight or Flight - The Dance of the Writer
While it is sometimes true that the mind of an author is like a garden, constantly sprouting and nurturing new ideas, blossoming and brimming with possibilities, this is not always the case. Other times, a different type of creation takes place. An idea bubbles in the mud of the author's…
Eve's Orchard
I wish there were always words available to me for the picking. Like an orchard of broad-limbed trees waiting in my backyard. I could ease out the screen door, relish the creak, watch my dogs run up and down the rows, stirring up dust. Perhaps in this world there are…
Live from the Touchstone Roped Series at Pipe Works Gym in Sacramento, California, it's Friday night!
I'm here with Jonathan, who has already chalked up 5300 points on a 5.12a. No pun intended. And if you're asking, "What pun?" I know you've never been to a climbing gym in your life, and so I'll explain. Everywhere I look, the air is filled with floating chalk…
Physical Therapy for the Brain
Sometimes writing feels like physical therapy. There are days when I wake up and forget that I've ever written anything. Words fall out of my mouth in some sloppy order not of my own choosing. Definitions are lost in the dark recesses of my brain. All of the tricks of…
Leaving the Desert
The Girl Behind the Red Door is currently under construction. Following the unfortunate and untimely loss of our server a few weeks ago, I found that the creative wind had been sucked from my sails. I suppose the fact that this event coincided with a very stressful time at work…