The Writer's Workout

“I just need to vent a bit, so scroll on if you don’t have the spoons.” This was the beginning of a recent post from a neurodivergent writer's group I follow on Facebook. Less than a year ago, I would have been very confused. Spoons? What spoons? Instead, the post made me chuckle since I knew exactly what the person was talking about. For those of you—like me—who are fairly new to this neurodivergent (ND) way of thinking and are still learning some terminology, let me enlight

Picture this: you’re in the querying trenches. You have been stressing over your query letter and sample pages, revising and tweaking until you achieve the desired tone, word count, and hook in the hopes of landing an agent. Then you finally hit “send.” You spend the next few hours, days, weeks obsessively checking your email and overanalyzing the lack of response as both a positive and a negative. The whole process is grueling. A Different Struggle Even so, querying hits dif

A week or so ago, I was listening to my favorite radio morning show on my way to work. The hosts often invite listeners to call in and share thoughts on a topic. On this particular morning, the topic was: What’s a hill you’ll die on that literally doesn’t matter? The callers and texters did not disappoint. Among the many “hills” were: Toilet paper rolls should go over the top (think “bangs, not a mullet”!) Pillowcase openings should face out to the edges of the bed Audiobooks

As writers, we all aspire to have people read the words we have so carefully crafted, don’t we? Well, I suppose there are some who write and hide their work in desktop folders or in repurposed shoeboxes buried deep within their closets, never meant for the public eye. But, hey, if you’re perusing this site—which means you have at least a marginal interest in improving your craft—you likely don’t fall into that second category. We might choose to write for a myriad of reasons

As has been noted in previous posts, I am fairly new to the neurodivergent world. I have ADHD and OCD but didn’t know these conditions are called neurodivergence. Apparently, self-discovery is a never-ending process! That said, since starting this blog series—and the research that comes with such an endeavor—I have received quite an education about neurodivergence. Some terms were new to me (even if the symptoms and challenges associated with them were not), such as executive

It’s been said that love and hate are two sides of the same coin. Both are intense emotions. Both are characterized by passion. They even activate similar areas of the brain. But they don’t mean the same thing, of course. “Love” reflects feelings of deep affection or pleasure in doing something, while “hate” suggests an equal level of animosity. So this begs the question: Is it possible to experience these seemingly conflicting feelings at the same time? If you’re neurodiver

Sometimes the universe is a kind and generous place, handing us a word so perfect it demands our reverence. May I present to you… SPUDDLE . “Spuddle” is a verb from the 17th century meaning “to work feebly or ineffectively, often because your mind is elsewhere or you haven’t quite woken up yet.” Another definition puts it this way: “to be extremely busy whilst achieving absolutely nothing.” I don’t believe anything has ever resonated with me more. While this meaning of the wo