I'm usually torn between being inspired and discouraged. When I was a kid, my mother believed in being honest. Perhaps her own mother didn't outright lie, but she certainly wasn't forthcoming. And after the divorce my mom did her best not to speak ill of my dad, but she did in a moment of anger …
Story-a-Day September has begun. Usually I have a theme or plan, and the plan this time around was going to be working my princess detective novel. And I am working on that, but when I sat down on September first, an image of a wolf on a hill popped up on my head. So I …
Things are changing in our house. (Though life is change, so when are things not changing?) I'll be starting my second job (losing time I've spent writing and making things) and our teen has started college. Then there are the outside forces, the Delta variant and the changes to our climate and whatever-in-the-all-the-levels-of-hell our rage-filled, …
My mom told me I learned my color wheel before I learned my ABCs. It surprises me now how I struggle to use color in my work now. In a high school art class, we had to draw a scene and then paint it. I loved my pencil drawing. It was of my best friend …
Someone else already came up with the challenge for being creative every day. So now I'm going to join in. I've had too many days in a row of just doing housework, schoolwork, or napping, and important as those things are, they can't be all that fill my days. Certainly teaching takes creativity. And I …
Home To be honest, I don't think my dad has any connection to the summer solstice. He isn't one to take note of such days. He's a quiet Catholic. He never talks about his beliefs and hasn't been to mass in 40 years. About ten years ago, I saw that he'd sent a check to …
I'm reading Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses. It's a book I wish I'd had years ago. It's a book I needed to read. And it's a reminded that no matter how much you think you know or how openminded you think you are, there is always light to shine in the dark, …
I love StoryaDay. Often when I post about it, someone tells me why they can't do it. And there are many valid reasons for not taking part. Nothing is for everyone. (Well, air. That's generally for everyone.) So my love of it and participation in it is not me knocking on your door like a …
As some of you know, I created a Patreon. You may also know StoryaDay May is about to start. And the pandemic is taking a toll on all of us, one way or another. I'll keep making things and writing stories regardless. Some things I share here. Some things I sell on Etsy. Other things …
So so so often I work on a story, rewrite several times, put it aside and come back to it to rewrite again, finally feel like it's finished and share it, only to have panic and suddenly realize how much I got wrong. Such feelings are common for many of the writers I know. Perhaps …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 