Sometimes issues, problems, or challenges that arise in my life motivate me to write. When I address difficult situations through writing, the built-up tension and worry releases and I am better able to discover a solution. This kind of writing is usually for my eyes only. There’s no reason to subject readers to the crazy thoughts that occasionally rattle around in my … [Read more...] about What Drives Me to Write by Linda Todd
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Why I Write by Sharon Svitak
I am certain that WWII seems like ancient history to many, but I was a small child living in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. Civilization was on the cusp of the first technological advances of the twentieth century. Televisions—black and white—had been created but were not common in the average household. Telephones still had wires. Most cars still had manual … [Read more...] about Why I Write by Sharon Svitak
What Drives You To Write? by Lani Longshore
Whenever I ask why someone writes, I get a different yet similar answer. The details change, but the essence is always that there's a story in the writer's head struggling to be heard. Whether the story is based on fact or springs entirely from imagination, the characters are real, and they have loud voices. The only way to stop the noise is to put the words on paper. I … [Read more...] about What Drives You To Write? by Lani Longshore
Why Am I Here and What Am I Supposed to Be Doing? by Lani Longshore
Although "Back-to-School" means nothing to my schedule and budget now, I still think of the end of summer as a new beginning. Creating new schedules when vacation has disrupted the old one is a good time to re-examine what I do. A book I read this summer, Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger, encouraged me to ask why I am doing what I think I should do. The book … [Read more...] about Why Am I Here and What Am I Supposed to Be Doing? by Lani Longshore
In Praise of Talking to Yourself by Lani Longshore
The other day my husband was trying to remember to plug in his electric car. In the morning, he asked me not to let him forget to do that later in the day. In the afternoon, he told me he had written himself a note reminding him to charge the car. In the early evening, he told me he was going to include plugging the car into the charging station in the nightly … [Read more...] about In Praise of Talking to Yourself by Lani Longshore
The Questions We Don’t Ask by Lani Longshore
While watching Gettysburg on the 4th of July, my husband wondered aloud why no one developed a smoke canister to disorient the foe in those years . Smoke screens were used for tactical advantage, but I haven't been able to find anything about a smoke canister for 19th century cannons. If indeed it was never invented, perhaps the reason was in part because no one asked the … [Read more...] about The Questions We Don’t Ask by Lani Longshore
11 Things You Won’t Want To Miss by Lani Longshore
The Social Media Group discussed a post about blog titles recently. Savaged the post might be a better description. Yet, here I am, using the formula recommended by the author. Why? Because I can. What does this have to do with the writing life? Read on and see. 1. Cold water on a hot day. Seriously, dehydration is nothing to laugh at. Your little gray cells can't function … [Read more...] about 11 Things You Won’t Want To Miss by Lani Longshore
Misdiagnosing the Plot by Lani Longshore
Two doctors decided that the doctor who diagnosed the rash on my palm a couple of months ago was mistaken. "The good news is, what he prescribed didn't do you any harm," one of them said. The better news is, I can use that in my writing. Stay with me here. Diagnosis is hard, and diagnosing skin issues is one of the hardest. It's the same with writing. You know something … [Read more...] about Misdiagnosing the Plot by Lani Longshore
