5 ways to make receiving feedback less painful

I'm not telling you to develop a thick skin, because you may never manage that. But I am telling you to be brave. And most of all, clever.

The Time and Place for Passive Voice

How to talk about passive voice as a useful thing? An okay thing? An allowed thing? So many of us as writers have received the advice that we need to change the passive voice in our work to active voice. This is good and important advice. You should do that.

Reading too much passive voice is unpleasant and boring. But, contrary to what short, insightful, and thought provoking nuggets of wisdom like write in active voice would have you think, passive voice has a place in your prose. Albeit, a sparing one.

Word Nerd Scribbles: How and Why I Started Blogging

I started blogging primarily to remind the world that I was alive.

Pancake-Making as a Metaphor for Writing

I'm getting better at making pancakes. Rather, I'm getting better at making pancakes the way I like them, which is, of course, the point. Buttery golden brown, soft in the middle, with a rim of good, light crunch around the edge. Weekend mornings of my childhood featured light smoke drifting from the kitchen into the … Continue reading Pancake-Making as a Metaphor for Writing →

Writing Life: Time Change

I have one particular writing nemesis, and that's the time change. Every year at around this time -- when it's getting dark at 7p and earlier -- my writing suffers. I write in the evening, after coming home from work, but now, the encroaching darkness tricks my brain into thinking it's bedtime. I can't possibly … Continue reading Writing Life: Time Change →

Writing Update: Logo and Short-Stories Goals

Last week, I reached two goals: raising enough funds to commission a logo for Word Nerd Scribbles, and revising/submitting the third of this year's short-stories. Logo Goal I mentioned in a previous post about how my Ko-Fi goal was to raise $30 in contributions to commission a logo design. The accompanying image, with its whopping 193% … Continue reading Writing Update: Logo and Short-Stories Goals →

Writing Life: First Rejection Letter

I have had, I would say, the unusual experience of receiving an acceptance letter before getting a rejection letter (as opposed to stunning, echoing silence in response to various queries). Yet you can't win them all, so here is my first rejection letter, from Dark Regions Press for their Deserted Island contest. Writers receive piles … Continue reading Writing Life: First Rejection Letter →

2018 Writing Update: Word Nerd Scribbles Shenanigans

At the beginning of the year, I posted about my writing goals for 2018. As we're over halfway through the year now, I'm thinking it may be time for an update.

Writing with Anxiety: Be Afraid and Write It Anyway

Anxiety in writing often derives not from a fear of writing itself. In truth, we writers fear audience judgement.

The Hopeful Wanderer – Artificial Illumination

Between one town and the next, I spied in the distance twin lanterns casting steady, white light into the night, throwing tree limbs and grass blades into sharp, black relief. One lamp hung above the other, appearing like the eyes in a face cocked sideways. Perhaps in curiosity, perhaps madness. No matter how close my … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Artificial Illumination →