by Pat Stoltey 2015 was a bad year for me, a year of stress and discomfort way beyond my usual challenges with arthritis and fibromyalgia. The laundry list of unfortunate incidents is too long to chronicle here. Two of the biggies: I spent more than three months early in theContinue Reading
I’ve been a health writer for over 17 years, and during that time I’ve learned quite a bit about natural oils and how beneficial they are. There’s a reason we’re seeing more and more of them in skin care products these days—the skin loves them! Even those who have troubleContinue Reading
You promised yourself you’d get chapter twenty-one done today. But the day is gone and it didn’t happen. Oh well. You’ll get to it tomorrow. Tomorrow comes and goes and the chapter still isn’t done. No problem. The weekend is coming. You’ll get it done then. We all tell ourselvesContinue Reading
When you become a writer, there’s a lot that other writers don’t tell you. There’s your newfound coffee addiction, back pain from sitting in that computer chair all day, anxiety, weight gain, eyestrain, headaches, and much more. Being an author is supposed to be some magical profession, that when youContinue Reading
by Suzanne Rogerson The idea for Visions of Zarua started when I had an image of a woman hunting in the woods with her hounds. The prey had disappeared and she was scared, but I didn’t know why or what she was hunting. I loved Varnia from the first momentContinue Reading
We’re a nation who loves to eat. Not only eat, but snack, graze, piece, munch, drink, savor, and slurp. And a lot of that is done while we’re writing. We don’t think about how it affects our tummies…until it does. Then we complain. Stupid stomach! Who has time for bloating,Continue Reading
Typical writing session: Write sentence. Stare at screen. Get up, go to fridge, open fridge, stare inside, close fridge. Sit down. Write another sentence. Get up, go to cupboard, take out box of crackers, eat crackers, sit back down. Delete last sentence. Stare at screen. Repeat process. Consuming something whileContinue Reading
by Anne Goodwin Along with a keyboard and a good dictionary, fingers, hands, and arms are essential items in a writer’s tool bag. But long hours in the company of QWERTY can result in significant strain that, if ignored, can lead to permanent damage. In days gone by, this mightContinue Reading
Time off, or downtime, encourages creativity. A number of studies have shown it to be true. One published in 2014, for example, reported that a vacation could increase creativity by boosting cognitive flexibility when employees returned to work. Other studies have reported that catching up on sleep, getting “away fromContinue Reading
by Sally Crum I met Sally at a writer’s gathering in Colorado. She’s written a series of children’s books along with some adult books about the Native Americans who lived in the Western Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico regions. These are educational, but fun—the perfect combination for any reader! HavingContinue Reading
by Patty Somlo As someone who was a journalist for 10 years before trying my hand at fiction, I have long been interested in stories and novels that, in some way, address important issues of contemporary life. The last several years I worked as a journalist, I focused on immigrationContinue Reading
If you’re working in a creative career, you know the drill— everything relies on your brain. I grew up on a ten-acre ranch, and when I get the chance to go back home for a few weeks, I’m always amazed at how easy it is to get things done evenContinue Reading