May 23 Posted by WFYS

Of rainbow nails and unlocked doors

. ~ I am going to tell you two stories. In one, I win the day. In the other, I’m a dork. ~   . Story one: . I was at my friend Cathy’s for an overnight brainstorming session about the new blogging series we are putting together. (You’ll be the first to know about it. I haven’t announced it here because it doesn’t exist yet.) Between work sessions (okay, fine, and... read more

Dec 24 Posted by WFYS

A Christmas wish for writers

Merry Christmas! A while back, I stumbled across this post over at the site for the San Francisco Writers Conference, and now I pass it on to you: A Christmas Wish List for Writers. What would you add to your own creative wishlist? Personally, I’d like the lack of fear to show up at my house a little more. The power to ignore discouragers, critics, and the worst naysayer of all — the voice of... read more

Dec 21 Posted by WFYS

December memories, writer-style

What does December mean to you? And don’t answer in that oh-so-trendy, commercial-versus-religious-holiday argument way. I’m asking: What does it mean to you? Is it the gifts? Was it the gifts, but now it’s something different? What smells, shapes, visuals, tears come to you when you think of the holidays? Who is with you?  Who isn’t? For me, it changes depending on which year I... read more

Nov 9 Posted by WFYS

Writer humor: A secret glimpse into the real world of writing

Today’s giggles come from writers Kristen Tsetsi and R.J. Keller (aka the Paper Rats) and their awesomesauce Youtube video series “Inside the Writer’s Studio“, which enlightens the public with way more publishing-chick truth than I am comfortable with. (I don’t want anybody to know that stuff. Deny, deny.) This is how it really is. Unfortunately. Regardless, “Raving... read more

Nov 4 Posted by WFYS

Quote of the week: Nothing bad can happen to a writer

. Nothing bad can happen to a writer. Everything is material. ~~Philip Roth, novelist, 1933- . . . (image... read more

Oct 29 Posted by WFYS

Forget the facts and let’s be practical

There is a fun little quote I’ve been saving to use for a Quote of the Week sometime, but forget that. Here it is: It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was. ~Anne Sexton I love that. And it’s so true. Good thing it’s true, too, because if the literary world were waiting on an agreement between my mind and my mother’s on any single incident from... read more

Jan 12 Posted by WFYS

Writer humor: The 10 phases of rejection

T.H. Mafi is hilarious. Here is the evidence. Go read this post on the ten phases of rejection, and try–just try!–not to laugh. I dare you. I first read it while drinking Coke. Big mistake. Big, big mistake. . read more

Jan 3 Posted by WFYS

Getting back on the writing horse

I make a good chunk of my living as a freelance writer and editor. Last year, we had multiple deaths in the family, and all things writing just slid for a while while we dealt with grief, illness, and eventually, funeral planning. When unexpected things happen to a freelancer, picking up where you left off can be hard to do when normalcy returns and the grey areas of life give you the chance to get back... read more

Jan 3 Posted by WFYS

The two hard truths of writing

They’re the most painful things to learn, but here they are: 1. You will make mistakes, and that’s okay. 2. No matter how good you think you are, someone else is better. Early on in your writing career, plenty of mistakes will happen. We all know that. What’s rough to swallow is that even as an established writer, you’re still going to make mistakes. Big ones, even. One poetry anthology I worked... read more