I've gotten feedback from some generous readers on stories I'm putting together. Asking for feedback triggers insecurity and guilt ("I'm sorry to bother you and you don't have to read it if you don't want to.") but oh, people's comments are incredibly helpful. The feedback isn't only helpful in the practical sense ("Thanks for catching …
The Year of the Rabbit isn't off to as good a start as I'd hoped. After the ice-storm-tree fiasco, I fatefully said, "Nothing else can go wrong." I even pointed at the dogs. "Here that, y'all? Nothing else can go wrong!" Sigh. I am a foolish human. To further bring that point home, I'm putting …
I've been watching videos about cutting up books. I love cutting paper, my own writing included. I love making things like this paper city in a box and other layered paper concoctions. But then...what do I do with them? Well, that's a problem for another day. In the meantime, what is it about paper that …
How is the beginning of the year? I've made a couple of things--a handmade sketch book and an ornament. I've been writing, but that's a mess. And I've been taking time to acknowledge the blue hour. I have an app on my phone to tell me the phase of the moon. I go outside to …
I chose some of my work to make prints, and I've posted them on Etsy. A few bunny Christmas cards are there too. I'd love for you to take a look, share, and get the word out. I'm selling one image that isn't something I drew. It is a photograph of the lake I grew …
How goes National Novel Writing Month, you ask? Okay. Maybe you have not asked, but it is a question I'm asking myself. I've managed to pick up a cold this weekend, which hasn't helped. (I've taken two covid tests, and both came up negative. And I've checked various websites about symptoms--cold, flu, or covid19? Cold. …
'Tis the spookiest weekend of the year! This morning I listened to some pieces on fear. We seem to live a lot in fear these days. Haven't we always? One of the segments talked about why we are attracted to horror. Google the question if you want! You'll find plenty of articles. I'm someone not …
Twenty years ago, when I first heard of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), I thought, "Whoa. That's madness." But I was also intrigued. The next week year, I gave it a try, and I loved it. Did I write the best novel ever? No. Of course not. Some folks complain about NaNoWriMo producing too many …
I read Rob Walker's newsletter The Art of Noticing. He returns often to lost objects. What lost objects have stayed with you over the years? Why do they matter? But if I still possessed every object lost, I'd be living under a mountain of things, much like the Junk Lady in Labyrinth. I've written about …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 