Author Archives: Susan

REALITY: Compensation

Posted on February 4, 2005 by Susan

What nice thing do you do for a spouse who offers to make dinner because he believes you to be hard at work in a cold barn all day when in truth, you’ve been huddled by the heater, writing on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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WRITING: The Editing Process

Posted on February 4, 2005 by Susan

Okay, it’s so much better now.  Smoother, streamlined. Wait–here’s a better word.  Okay. Ehhh,  let me highlight this in red so I maybe can come up with something better later. Okay–oh yes!  I’m glad I thought of this, it really … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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WRITING: Paring Down

Posted on February 3, 2005 by Susan

I come from a long line of seamstresses; from ballgowns for high class society in Poland, to the miniskirts and children’s smocked dresses of my own day. The initial joy was in the pinning of the pattern to the cloth, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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REALITY: Breaking Rules

Posted on February 3, 2005 by Susan

Sometimes it’s just worth it.  $10 is worth the avoidance of a long walk back and forth to your car in cold weather when you’re tired and high on good talk and food. Me and my parking ticket made it … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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WRITING: Submitting

Posted on February 3, 2005 by Susan

Last month, I submitted a story that was roughly in 2nd draft form–only having been edited for phrase, sentence, grammar–the same story I just posted about in the previous entry about workshopping. Why did I submit for publication–a contest, no … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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WRITING: Workshopping

Posted on February 3, 2005 by Susan

A story I’d written over the holidays was workshopped last night at our meeting, and the feedback was revealing, confirming, enthralling, sobering, and most of all, motivating. The bad news:  With a single final phrase, it is obvious that I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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WRITING: Moving Towards The Goal

Posted on February 3, 2005 by Susan

I have three weblogs to write in this morning, and the thoughts are still swirling around in a vortex I must wait for to slow down and settle into place. A writers group meeting last night, some great thoughts both … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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EDUCATION: Retention

Posted on February 2, 2005 by Susan

It’s odd, how some things that we’ve learned stick in our heads forever.  Or maybe it is just the age at which we learn.  I still can sing a song in Polish that we learned in kindergarten for a recital, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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EDUCATION: History

Posted on February 1, 2005 by Susan

So all this time I thought I came from Mesapotamia, or maybe Ancient Greece, with a few immemorable stops here and there, and one lifetime spent in the American West.  But tonight I found a few missing centuries of my … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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WRITING: Discipline

Posted on February 1, 2005 by Susan

I need a lock on my computers.  Opened only with the magic words, "Then what?" No problem with the writing, with the going on and on in great big leaps of words that embed themselves upon the page and settle … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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WRITING: An excuse

Posted on February 1, 2005 by Susan

Oh boy.  I seem to be developing a behavioral problem here.  A sudden and severe case of the "I don’t wannas" brought upon me by the Creative Writing course again that brings with it, like Christmas, visions of sugarplum stories … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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WRITING: Time as Story

Posted on January 31, 2005 by Susan

There you go.  Down to the last page of the first chapter of the Book of Year.  What was revealed? Is there a buildup in the setting, is there an incident that leads to more to come, is there a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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REALITY: To Do’s

Posted on January 30, 2005 by Susan

Got a lot done today, much more to do tomorrow.  Need to apply for a passport–heard it takes a while, and the government gets involved, although I’m not sure why the FBI cares if you’re leaving the country; it seems … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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REALITY: Sunday Sundries

Posted on January 30, 2005 by Susan

One of those days that needs a map to get around the story.  Pinpoints mark the spots where time is spent between the dawn and dark.  Replacing hard drive, adding memory to the kid’s machine; quarterly sales tax, year-end books … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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REALITY: Writing

Posted on January 29, 2005 by Susan

Well this sucks.  I’m really really antsy writing thoughts that pass on through, and I don’t know where to place them any more. I’ve written several out and then deleted; a bit too personal for my classroom journal, but then … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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