Will you have written that story you’ve thought about for years?

Is the story of your dreams in the hands of readers today?

How will you feel when someone says, Thank you for sharing your story?

I’ve asked myself these questions many times. I still do. I’m not one to rest on my laurels, so my published articles from kayaking to the art of Feng shui and sundry others may count in the general scheme of things, but I know there’s a lot more to come.

You see, my notebooks and journals are overflowing with story ideas. Fiction, nonfiction, and occasionally a poem will surface from overheard conversations. Memories of growing up as a military brat,* the loss of loved ones, and even deciduous trees and broken seashells invite me into their natural worlds without hesitation. And I’m so very grateful. 

It’s as if my DNA is laced with never wanting to miss a thing — even the chance to watch a room full of people sitting mostly...

Writing to preserve yesterday’s stories is no easy task. They’re sometimes filled with scars and wrinkles of our past as I wrote in An Easy Guide to Writing Life Stories.

                                “Scars and wrinkles appear in all lengths and depths,

                                wrapped in sundry textures. Some quite visible to the

                                naked eye, others not so much.”

Scars may come from childhood scrapes, like when I squeezed between the barbed wire fencing to escape a raging bull. Or so I thought. Seven-year-olds have active imaginations, but I still have a five-inch scar on the inside of my right knee just the same.

As we know, scars are not limited to the adventures of children....

Has your writing routine been plagued by too many interruptions lately? 

We all know how easily a writing schedule can be derailed. A neighbor needs a ride, or the appliance repairman shows up a day early. Then, before you know it, poof, the time you planned to write and the day are both gone.  

My protagonist’s inner conflict and the antagonist’s snarky attitude are abruptly cut off in mid-sentence when my writing is interrupted. Dialogue is left dangling in thin air! Frustration builds.  

I’ve found that the first step to prevent those annoying roadblocks is to make writing a habit, part of my routine, like daily flossing and coffee with breakfast. And that’s not all.

Give this habit the authority it deserves. Schedule it on a calendar like any other appointment. I like to pencil in the title of my work-in-progress. “Matilda” 10:00 - Noon. You get the idea. 

Once the writing ‘appointment’ is on your...

Has the dizzy monkey knocked on your door lately? You know the one, that annoying visitor that pops in unannounced and unwelcome. He’ll tease and taunt you, pushing all your buttons.

The dizzy monkey will question your story idea and maybe even the plot. Heck, if you let him in, he’ll have you delete dialog and change the setting. He’s a relentless distracter and sower of doubt.

Before you wad up and pitch that draft, filled with your best attempt at intrigue or mystery, consider this: The dizzy monkey has paid a visit to each of us at one time or another.

I know how you feel. He’s been at my door before, too. Want to know what I do? Read on.

No one is immune to the dizzy monkey. I doubt there’s a writer on the planet who has not endured his painful nagging at one time or another. Struggling to land the right words on paper is not an easy task. Sometimes the writing stars are aligned, and all is right with the world and our words....