It's 11am in Chicago and the Celtic Fest has just kicked off in Millennium Park with a burst of bagpipes. People are beginning to straggle in for the various concerts. Too bad it's cool and overcast, but by the looks of the arriving jacket-clad crowd, nothing will keep them away. The sun will break through …
Writers: Carry a Notebook
Writing Tip: Always carry a notebook. My first writing teacher, Carol LaChapelle at the Newberry Library in Chicago, told us to carry a 3x5 inch notebook with us at all times. My notes from her class (6/12/00) read: "Get a tiny notebook to carry in your purse with pen that fits on." Clearly, I was …
Spring in Chicago
Chicago was bustling today! From my window, I saw the trees in Millennium Park now full of green. The glistening Bean waiting for thousands of summer hand prints that tourists will happily plant. The sailboats starting to moor in Monroe Harbor. Instead of black coats scurrying along on the street below, I saw yellow, teal, …
Sprung from the Bed
If you've stopped in before, you'll notice that I'm revamping this site. I feel "free" again after three days in bed with the flu. I mean being down and out. Cold. So with a new spurt of energy, I'm clicking on everything in WordPress and trying on new looks. I'm sure there's more to come. …
Nurses: Write Your Memoirs!
Nursing memoirs. I dream of two full rows in the bookstores of memoirs written by nurses. I see many more written by doctors. Why not nurses? Why not us? Yes, there are a few anthologies, but this is not like the life story of a nurse. And most of the nursing memoirs out there are …
Chicago – Tulips, Water Tower Place, American Girl Place
Chicago in spring. Come visit! More next week.
Dynamite Help with Writing Memoir
Writing Tip: Read a "how to" book. The best book on writing memoir--I've read many--is Tristine Rainer's Your Life as Story: Discovering the 'New Autobiography' and Writing Memoir as Literature. I didn't discover this book until my second year of writing. Maybe that was okay because I had to do a lot of writing to …
When is a Bird Not a Bird?
Writing tip: Get motivated. Ready? Read Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. This was the second book I read on my way to becoming a writer, and I loved it. It has to do with getting your words on the page. And Lamott writes her “instructions” with humor. You can't …
Time for Paper and Pen to Rest, Birds Too
Did you find the birds on the photo? I'm looking at them now to remind myself to take my own advice, quit fine tuning this blog, let my own sun set, and go to bed. But, I decided earlier tonight to reorganize, and I can't quit until I'm finished. You know the feeling, I'm sure. …
“Free Write” into the Good Stuff
Writing Tip: For starters, read! If you’re new to writing, read inspirational books on writing to give yourself a jump start. I began with Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones. I learned to do a “free write.” Without looking, aim the point of your pen on a newspaper. Take the word it falls on and, …
Write Along with Me 