Over at Matt's blog I said I'd do this meme thing--seven random things about me for what they're worth. 1. My great-aunt accused me of being sexist when I was eight for writing a poem about the sun and making the sun male. 2. With a tape recorder I taped The Wizard of Oz from …
Author: mapelba
I'm a writer, artist, teacher, mother, wife, daughter, friend, coffee addict... What else? A success, a failure, a mess, a fan, a hater of housework, a lover of dogs, a liberal, an obsessive, and a bunch of other things that probably would never occur to me. I reveal myself in more ways in my writings and art than in any list of adjectives. And whoever you are, I hope most of all that you are a reader.
I knew I was a writer when…
After reading a post by a friend, I thought about the question of when I knew I wanted to be a writer. I realized I don't know the answer. I remember writing a short story in the fifth grade. I remember writing poems for my grandmother when I was eight. I remember reading everything interesting …
The Next Thrill
The thrill of hitting 50k has not worn off. To be honest, the thrill of 50k from previous years has not worn off. I cherish my little successes and I love every story. Maybe this is wildly egomaniacal, but I really do love every novel I've written no matter what shape it's in. My love …
I won, I won, I won!
Well, the story isn't over, but I reached my 50K for NaNoWriMo, and I am way too please with myself. Excuse me, where is the fanfare? Where's the confetti? Where is the champagne? But now comes the hard part--putting the thing together in a coherent form. Ha! But I don't do NaNo to say I've …
Stuff in Space
Inspired by RadioLab, here is a question--if you were to gather things together for a space capsule, those "perfect" things to represent us, this human race, to send to the social scientists, artists, politicians, gossip columnists, et al of another planet, what would those things be? (And come on now, at least one of them …
It’s the Sacrifice, Stupid.
Thoughts of virtue, sacrifice, and vows of poverty have been hanging about lately, and while I read about them in a context that is not about writing, I am certainly capable of making that leap. For the moment I'm interested in sacrifice... and I'll get to the point in a roundabout way. One of my …
When is prolific prolific?
I heard an interview with Joyce Carol Oates and she said something along the lines of how she didn't see herself as prolific. She really didn't think she wrote that much. I wanted to reach through my headphones and shake her. She must think the rest of us are lazy bums. Just goes to show …
Avoiding Reality
This NaNo novel (currently at 43k!) is taking something of a fairy tale turn. I blame the websites Endicott Studio and In the Labyrinth. Well, I can never write a story straight--meaning that I can't keep everything in the real world. Odd things wind their way into my stories and I can't take them out …
Plot vs Friends
What to do when your plot doesn't match the politics/beliefs/values of your friends? This had not occured to me until one day a friend commented on a book I was working on and I realized that she was worried that a character might act in a way that could send the wrong signal to certain …
So, how far did you go with your blog last night?
I came across this post at Wish Jar Journal, and her points are worth considering. Why blog and how far should it go? What is gained from this? Then again, what is gained from writing a book and getting it published? (I mean in a nonpaycheck sort of way.) How is this kind of expression …
Continue reading So, how far did you go with your blog last night?
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 