Have you observed a baby lately? Tonight I spent the evening with relatives from New Jersey including a three-month-old and a newborn. The differences in their abilities made me appreciate the amazing growth process. I plan to write a YA novel with a baby in it. My observations of the two babies this evening gave […]
The Gender and Birth Order of Characters’ Siblings Can Deepen Viewpoints
Do any of the characters in your stories have siblings? You can deepen the reasons for the protagonist’s psychological needs by exploring their siblings birth order and gender. On New Year’s Eve at the Berkeley Yacht Club, I talked with a couple friends, one of which brought up a need she had to have a […]
Picasso and Procrastination
I chose Picasso’s painting called The Dream for this post’s image because we all have a dream of what we want to accomplish. During my writing class on Monday, we discussed writing goals for the next couple weeks while we have a break. I suggested to at least use the two hours a week that […]
A Quote About Travel
“The world is a book, And those who do not travel, Read only a page.” By Saint Augustine To me, reading a book is traveling. When I read Aegean Dream by Dario Ciriello, I felt as if I had gone to the Island of Skopelos. When something reminds me about the book, I can imagine […]
Writing Prompt
Now that summer is half over and school will begin in about a month, how have your children spent their free time? Our house is in a court with three families who have children under the age of 11. They’ve been playing basketball and baseball in the mornings and evenings. The afternoon is too hot. […]
Quotes by Writer Iris Murdoch
Iris Murdoch, an Irish-born British author and philosopher, was born July 15, 1919 and died February 8, 1999 at age 79. She ranked twelfth on a list of “The 50 greatest British writers since 1945.” She wrote 26 novels and followed the tradition of novelists like Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, George Elliot, and Proust. Murdoch was married […]
Writing Prompt in a Quote
Today I went with three of my long time friends to meet a mutual friend at Frank Coppola’s Winery Restaurant. We had an hour and a half drive from the south and the friend from the north had about 45 minutes to get there. Heavy, dark clouds followed us and a misty rain teased the […]