The Writer's Workout

This summer has been short and sweet. It’s also been hell. Let me explain: I am a teacher. I work ten months of the year. I am also one of the fortunate ones who does not have to pick up a second or third job in the summer to make ends meet. My summers are wide-open expanses of hours, days, and weeks to fill as I see fit. Even so, it tends to fly by. Normally, we have a vacation or two planned. This year we traveled to Canada and visited Banff and Jasper National Parks. The

Writing is an individual sport. And all sports have rules. The rules apply to everyone, and following them is a prerequisite for participation. Okay, writing isn’t really a sport, but sometimes it feels like one with all the so-called "rules" we're expected to follow if we want to be successful. Except that if you are a neurodivergent (ND) writer like me, the rules not only don’t always work but they make the process more painful. I’d like to share with you a bunch of writing

“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