reflection – reader. writer.

The ride

When I was young, grocery stores often provided a mechanical cartoonish animal, sometimes a horse or a dragon, that children could ride at the cost of several quarters, perhaps for being good during the trip to the grocery store. While I don’t think I was particularly naughty, I rarely got to indulge because my parentsContinue reading “The ride”

Clear eyes

My husband had eye surgery (cataracts) today, and it turned into an all day event, with no time to write one of the blog posts I had in mind. We returned home with just a half hour before we had to leave for our daughter’s sports banquet. He was groggy and sore enough to beContinue reading “Clear eyes”

Be skeptical but not cynical.

I fear my country is being harmed by a penchant for dualism—yes, I know you hear that all the time, but I won’t rant about it today. Instead, this is an invitation to tackle the challenges we face as a skeptic but not a cynic. Take voting, for example. Is it reasonable to be skepticalContinue reading “Be skeptical but not cynical.”

Rowing Forward

I am making steady progress, working through revisions of the (currently) 52 scenes of my novel. I’ve been here before. I’ve worked through most of these scenes several times now. Currently, most of the scenes have notes attached to them with changes to make. The final scenes need massive changes, which is a bit dauntingContinue reading “Rowing Forward”

Novel-Writing Meltdown

So the good news is that I am still, on average, on track with my novel. I haven’t written every day, but I have written most days. The not-so-good news but good-that-it’s-over news: I had a meltdown of sorts, a fit of doubt and despair about the novel. None of this makes sense to meContinue reading “Novel-Writing Meltdown”

Yield Days

So I have been working on the novel for 21 days straight, though that is only true because I wrote one word yesterday. Some might call that grade inflation, but they are people who deserve pity for their obsessive need to judge others. Ahem. Anyway, I thought this might be a good time to talkContinue reading “Yield Days”

In defense of Mondays

My goal today is to reclaim Mondays from all the haters out there. It is not a random goal. In recent years, my adolescent children have come to dread Mondays and the return to school in ways they never did in the past. Monday casts a long shadow over Sunday and even sometimes Saturday, asContinue reading “In defense of Mondays”