In my experience, there are two kinds of writers: writers who have too many ideas and writers who don't have enough. I am the second kind of writer, and for years I used it as one of my excuses not to write. As such, the question 'how do you get ideas?' holds special importance to …
NaNoWriMo: Come Again?
Note: If you have any desire to read this post with a soundtrack, here’s my recommendation. When I first heard a friend talking about NaNoWriMo my reaction was approximately “Gezundheit?” Fortunately, my friend was patient and explained the acronym: NAtionalNOvelWRItingMOnth I learned every November, writers around the world try to write an entire novel in …
Writing When You’re Engulfed in Flames
Image description: burned trees on a hillside. Photo credit: Husbeast, It's October. While others revel in the crisp mornings, the changing foliage, and everything pumpkin spice, not so for me. I dislike the cold and driving in the snow, so the shortening days typically feel like a threat. But this year, August and early September …
The Undefined Space
Fourteen years ago a friend and I arranged for some acquaintances from our debate team to go to a movie together. We hung out incessantly after that. As teenagers, perhaps we depended on each other for a sense of identity. We spent hours in my parents' basement draped over an uncomfortable couch, clustered around a …
Wait, whose name is that in the byline?
Friends- Announcement time! As of 12:00 midnight, I am a published author. https://dailysciencefiction.com/hither-and-yon/magic-realism/suzanne-miller/fear-of-falling Image description: view of a wooded hillside to the right and a wooded valley to the left/in the distance. Writing is like climbing a mountain with no summit. There's always a way to get better and achieve more (even for you, J.K. …
Dealing with Rejection
Dealing with rejection is an unavoidable part of…most of life, really. Writing is no exception. The demand for books and short stories is less than the supply, so you can do the math. This is a big part of why it took me fifteen years to rediscover my childhood love of writing. Here are some …
A Brief History of the Writer as Pertains to Words
At five months, inspired by my giant floor companion (see below), I uttered my first word: “doggie.” I haven't shut up since. Throughout my early childhood, my ever-loving parents quietly suffered through what they dubbed my “talkatism.” Then, in an act of what I assume was desperation, they made the mistake of allowing me …
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