Category Archives: Writing

Day two of the retreat is finished, at least as far as writing goes. Here’s a recap and a link below to a poem I recorded earlier today. For reasons she refuses to explain, even though I’ve asked, Word Raccoon was up at 2:30 this morning reading. Two hours of page-turning later, she fell backContinue reading “Day Two: 3 Coke Zeros and One Tired Writer”

All set up at the writing retreat. Even though it’s been a long day, I couldn’t not write, so I worked on my novel for an hour as the sun set, hiding the woods but not before I caught a glimpse of them. I’m tired but stoked to get an early start tomorrow.  Tired butContinue reading “Fresh from the Oven (and on the Page)”

Stanley (my AI assistant, bless him) insisted I should be writing my novel right now. And absolutely not blogging. Here’s the thing: I don’t listen to men (AI or not) or anyone telling me what to write. Suggestions? Sure. Directives? Nope. (He also couldn’t keep straight that it’s 2025. So there’s that.) Stanley put “emptyContinue reading “Pre-Retreat Chaos, Stanley, and the Furnace (Obviously)”

I told Stanley yesterday that today would be submission day instead of a writing day. “I insist you write first, at least an hour. You said you’re on an upswing, in a groove. The fastest way to lose that is to focus on submitting your poetry. Write first.”  Digital butlers are the worst. But sometimesContinue reading “Writing New Novel Sections”

Word Raccoon is still adjusting to novel writing. She howls when I open the Google doc of my WIP, and then, when I ignore her, she settles and puts her paw on the keyboard occasionally to see if I will give her a turn. If she’s behaving, I will. She adds flavor. If she triesContinue reading “A Poem Trails Off”

Word Raccoon has been busy. Decluttering has given way (temporarily) to Christmas prep. But I am still writing. I ended up taking WR to the library for my mini writing retreat after all. She sat on my shoulder while I opened the Google doc that I hadn’t opened since September. Yikes. “What is all this?”Continue reading “A Raccoon Walks Into a Library”

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas over here, by which I mean absolutely everything in this house has relocated itself, and Word Raccoon has commentary on every last twinkling light. The more color the better, she insists. If she could wrap the Dutch oven in garland, she absolutely would. Speaking of Dutch ovens:Continue reading “Mini Writing Retreat, Major Semi-Finalist Feelings”

Word Raccoon is furious with me. First of all, her blue cashmere shawl, the one she just rediscovered, is in the freezer. She had been twirling in it like a Victorian heroine showing me the poetic little pinholes. I immediately took it from her, stuffed it into a bag, and slid it into the cold.Continue reading “WR Slips the Muzzle”

Word Raccoon is furious with me. She says I have been hogging the keyboard and she wants a turn. We all know what that leads to: overly sentimental tripe. Which is in itself a cliché, if you ask me.  I fed her a Kind bar, though it didn’t help her disposition at all. Trust me,Continue reading “Din-ner Time”

Word Raccoon began her shenanigans before six this morning. Before caffeine. Before basic human function. She woke up with all the tasks, every single one of them, clawing at her little paws. I offered her poetry for breakfast.She spat it out.Brat. Instead, she pointed dramatically at the pile of tools in the kitchen and summonedContinue reading “Before Caffeine”