• Crumpled up paper next to note pad
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    Sometimes, when I write, I get nervous about what my readers will think if I decide to change the course of the story. They won’t know what changes were made unless I tell them. The draft may not convey the same story. Why concern yourself with future opinions? These are reasons you can’t write. Comparison  ...
  • Word LOVE written in Sand
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    February is the month of gray and the month of love all wrapped up into one. Did someone plan this phenomenon? I believe it is all a plan to get us through the last cold, gray month of winter before the promise of spring lies before us. Some may call it a capitalist ploy to ...
  • Scattered tree branches, coconuts, and other debris on the backdrop of damaged cars and trucks.
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    It took only a few hours to obliterate the country. Then the skies cleared, and we crawled out of our houses on shaky limbs, fearful of what awaited us. The year was 2004, and our tiny island had been safe from catastrophe for over fifty years. One of the most destructive storms to cross the ...
  • ocean waves at sunset
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    During my youth, planning my future was a full-time job. I dreamed of every detail. I knew I wanted to be a mother. God’s plan was never in doubt for me. I created timelines in my head for my perfectly normal life. The straight path we would follow. Instead, we are on a twisty, dark ...
  • a young woman working on her laptop
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    I have written nothing for any of my stories in a while. Writing took a slight backseat while I started learning about my mental health. My characters have still been wreaking havoc in my brain, but the doubts prevented me from writing my ideas on paper. Next, came the inevitable thoughts about not being a ...
  • It's a drawing of a family and their children playing
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    Have you ever thought about the adult the younger version of yourself imagined you would be? I thought I would live in a London flat with my husband and at least a few children. My life isn’t anything similar to what I thought when I was little. Honestly, I was sad about that for a ...
  • puzzle pieces on a table
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    When life sets a problem in your lap, are you a half-full or half-empty type of person? My goal is to see the glass is half full and figure out how to fill the rest. Then it happens. An out-of-the-ordinary conflict sits before you. At every turn, rather than filling the glass, your efforts seem ...
  • A person is creating a collage of sticky notes of the writing process.
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    I haven’t worked on my novels in about a year. My stories are a sensitive subject for me. Talent is subjective. Even though many people have praised my writing over the years, I have a hard time believing them. My motivation has been to write for people like me, or my loved ones.  Recently, a ...
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    October 10, 2015 Sunday mornings in October meant getting up early to work at the Hilti Ballfields. Dad served as the head groundskeeper there, making sure that the fields were in order for the little league games. He hired my siblings and I to walk the fields an hour before dawn to pick up the ...