blue ink pen drawing of Toulouse-Lautrec by L.Lyn Greenstone

What is Ekphrasis & How Can it Help My Writing?

An image creates words, but words also create images, each spiraling around the other like a gene chain building itself.

Ekphrasis of the Schuffeneckers

…ekphrasis–using a piece of art to inspire the narrative. If you want to try it, take a painting, sculpture, photo, or anything you see as art and begin studying it. Just spend time with it, looking closely, asking what the story might be.

board where scene synopses are pinned

Pin the Scene on the Story

Today’s adventure in novel writing felt like the childhood game of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. As soon as that thought landed, I felt transported to the land of fun. A moment  before, and most of the last day or two before that thought, I wasn’t so sure. I confuse myself with all the ideas I allow to run […]

Can We Rewild Motherhood?

What if, instead of confining women to some narrow social standard, motherhood could be the very thing to return us back to our original state as image bearers of an untamed God?

cover of book Midwinter Day by Bernadette Mayer; tree drawing.

Midwinter Day

I’m inspired to think of a woman writing an entire book in a day, doubly inspired to know she did it with two small children running around.

descending dove shaped sheared tree

My Stepfather’s Tree

My mother didn’t allow us to gather to memorialize my stepfather, but the tree is a memorial I see every day. I still talk with him. I still ask my him questions and then wait–the answer comes, as if we’re still talking, because I believe we are.

family photo

Letters of Connection

Do you write a yearly letter? Part update, part family history, part lost art… letters keep us connected.

list as example

Tackling the Missing Scenes List

Having a list of what to do next helps, but there’s still a matter of figuring out what it means to “list all the scenes that need to be cut,”

notebooks

Revision: Returning to Intentions for DIY Book Finishers

Like the kid who can’t keep the sand toys separated from the indoor toys, I get things all get mixed together. Instead of 4 neat notebooks, I’ve got 12… plus the sandbox.

Sugababe; a hearing ear cloned from Van Gogh

Bootcamp Finale: Title Time

We love books in our family and have opinions about titles. We sometimes sit around and toss out titles, or bad ad slogans.

Book Finish Bootcamp on Sunday: Rest & Retreat

Sunday was and is a day of rest, so even though I show up for Bootcamp today I have a more laid back feeling about it, ready for the rest part of the DIY retreat.

stack of rocks

Health, Bootcamp, & DIY Everything

Writing is one more reason to make healthy choices when it comes to being active, and eating or drinking moderately. Those choices help me show up to write each day and keep my mind clear and focused.

DIY Writing Retreat + Bootcamp

…by framing my day as a writing retreat I’m building awareness of what I’m doing when I’m not doing what I said I’d be doing- writing the novel.

Doc Martin boots in floral pattern next to bookshelf

The Miracle of a DIY Writing Retreat & Bootcamp

Book Finish Bootcamp kicked off on Wednesday…the middle of the week to untangle a muddle of a novel from the inside out.

the dress

Costume Creation Gone Crazy

She donned the gown like a girl playing dress-up and said, I’d love to dash through the halls of a palace quoting Shakespeare in this.