writing

March 9, 2016

Jill of all Trades or Renaissance Woman?

I am what one might call a “Jill of All Trades,” the female counterpart of a “Jack of All Trades.” I quite liked this phrase until I saw a quote on Pinterest (seriously, Pinterest? You’re supposed to be my social media happy place!) that reads: “Jack of all trades, but a master of none.” Well stink.… Continue reading

literary living, Musings

blog, books, classic literature, composing, da vinci, inspiration, jack of all trades, jill of all trades, Music, novel, organ, piano, Reading, renaissance man, renaissance woman, short story, writing
January 30, 2016

The Shop

“Okay, what quirky place inspired this story?” asked my editor upon reading the following tale. “It’s too random not to be based on reality.” My editor (who may or may not also be my mother, but she was an English teacher/professor so it’s kosher) was right. This story sparked to life in an antique mall in… Continue reading

Scribblings

1920, antique, antique shop, author, Book, books, desire, editor, era, fashion, flapper, inspiration, literature, modern, modern woman, old fashioned, roaring twenties, shop, short story, store, story, style, the shop, thought-provoking, time, vintage, writer, writing
January 12, 2016

Two Poems for Two Places

Driving across my home state of Arizona, I was struck not only by the differences between my Sonoran Desert home and White Mountain destination, but by the subtle similarities between the two. While it might seem odd that I was able to find any commonality between these so apparently distinct places, I sensed a certain artistic… Continue reading

Poetry

arizona, az, beauty, books, cacti, cactus, climate, common, common theme, desert, different, idea, inspiration, intrigue, nature, nature poetry, pine, pine tree, poem, poet, poetry, saguaro, similar, snow, sonoran, strength, theme, white mountains, writer, writing
January 10, 2016

Literary Tourism

Don’t be a tourist. I don’t mean don’t travel; by all means, see the world and explore new places! But don’t be a tourist, defined as “a person who travels for pleasure, especially sight-seeing and staying in hotels.” That doesn’t sound so bad, but can one really experience a place through simply seeing sights and… Continue reading

literary living, Literature, Musings

Anna Karenina, author, Book, books, bookworm, classic literature, explorer, exploring, great books, literary, literature, london, masterpiece, novel, paris, Reading, tolstoy, tourism, travel, traveller, writer, writing
December 16, 2015

On the Platform

“Are you waiting for someone, miss?” “Yes.” “Would you prefer to sit in the waiting room?” “No thank you.” She had been sitting there for quite some time and the train station master was beginning to wonder if she was really waiting for anyone at all. She certainly appeared to be… Continue reading

Scribblings

draft, Fiction, hopeless romantic, romance, romantic story, short fiction, short story, writer, writing
December 15, 2015

The Gardener

Their forks clicked in unison against the empty plates as they set them down, finished. The utensils were not the only things that had clicked. The meal had been delicious, the girl lovely, the man courteous, the conversation interesting and free of the awkward pauses generally ended by dull commentaries on the weather or the… Continue reading

Scribblings

cemetery, draft, Fiction, gardener, graveyard, scribble, short fiction, short story, speculative fiction, story, writer, writing
December 15, 2015

Graveyard Library

Upon finishing up my finals and juries today, I found my mind in a muddle, so I did the natural thing: I went exploring. In doing such, I happened upon a cemetery and spent a great deal of time wandering and wondering. To any outside observer, I was just another a college girl in an ugly Christmas sweater… Continue reading

Scribblings

author, beauty, cemetery, epitaph, exploring, finals, graveyard, history, inspiration, learning, library, metaphor, poem, poet, poetry, tomb, tombstone, writer, writing
October 8, 2015

Poems and Trees and Such

It is National Poetry Day and I feel compelled to participate. Unfortunately, I tend to be much better at prose and the occasional limerick. Don’t believe me? The crowning achievement of my poetic career is this, written in eighth grade and shared by my dear friends throughout the entire school during a poetry appreciation event. Thanks… Continue reading

Literature

frost, limerick, metamorphoses, national poetry day, ovid, poem, poet, poetry, pun, robert frost, stress, trees, writing
October 6, 2015

The Word Crimes Inferno

In reading Dante’s Inferno, I was struck by his ability to identify, categorize, and assign fitting punishments to various sins. This is not perhaps the most cheerful observation, but it was certainly intriguing and made me think (apologies for the morbidity): what crimes I would punish were I to write a modern Inferno and how would I… Continue reading

Literature, Musings

AP Literature, author, Book, books, bookworm, dante, dictionary, english humor, essay, grammar, grammar humor, grammar nazi, grammarly, humor, inferno, literate, literature, novel, pun, punctuation, puns, Reading, syntax, the inferno, word crimes, writer, writing
August 28, 2015

#WriterGoals by Homer, Odysseus, and Ryanne

Yes, my title is a hashtag. Sometimes I like to break the trend of ordinary prose. Sorry not sorry. Ironically, however, this post is based on writing standards set waaaaaaaay back in the days of Homer. In reading through The Odyssey for my university’s honors institute, I realized two things: First, listening to Chopin’s nocturnes whilst reading makes… Continue reading

Literature, Musings

AP Literature, Art, author, authors, beautiful, beautiful wriitng, beauty, Bible, Book, book review, books, brainstorming, C.S. Lewis, character, Children’s Books, chopin, classic literature, creativity, enduring books, epic, good writing, great books, homer, poetry, prose, the iliad, the odyssey, torrey honors institute, true writing, truth, writer, writer goals, writing
July 16, 2015

A Europe State of Mind

It has now been over a month since I returned from the trip of a lifetime: a two-and-a-half week journey through Europe with my family. When I call it the “trip of a lifetime”, I mean it! Sure, I had to punch my snoring relatives in the middle of the night once in a while,… Continue reading

Musings

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July 9, 2015

To answer “How is your writing going?”

People often ask, “How is your writing going?” or some such question. Well, to answer that… What I think: My novel is sadly forsaken but I think if it all the time and also I need to change the entire perspective so I am rewriting it even though I was 50,000 words in and also… Continue reading

Musings, Scribblings

author, blogger, Book, brainstorming, essay, first draft, novel, practice, short story, working, writer, writer problems, writer’s block, writers despair, writing, writing practice, young author