An act of defiance in a battle I am losing — I threw away an old friend A small folding clock Silver finish, big numbers, solid engraved cover that folded down into its stand at night Always the pale glow of a moonlit night A friend dead many years gave it to me on a birthday long ago Here, you need this You always…

When you have nothing to write about you write about nothing — Staring out the window Nothing to write about so I write about nothing Searched for inspiration at the bottom of my wine glass but any juicy ideas must be hidden in the next bottle… and I am willing to keep looking My mind has left the building Nothing in my addled…

Strive for naked sentences in your writing — Good writing is clean writing, and solid editing begins with ripping out the unneeded, the unwanted, the redundant and the superfluous. Good writing is naked writing, cutting to the fewest words you can write to get your point across. My last book was rewritten five separate times working with an…

I am tired, so tired, waiting for you — I was hoping you would save me You see, I am the lost Wandering along this broken trail My life wasted looking for nothing I can’t look behind me I can’t stand the sight of who I was Alone, alone and lonely The path rising, rocks jagged, thin air of failure choking me…

Don’t let your inner critic ruin your adventure — Starting a writing career after fifty reveals a unique set of challenges. Most of us starting to write when we become a “person of a certain age” have denied this dream of becoming a writer during our earlier years, trading our writing time for family and careers. But now you…

Let nothing get in the way of your dream — It’s 2:00 in the morning, go to bed (confused but saintly mother) I am reading You have school tomorrow I am reading You read too much, you will ruin your eyes I am reading What are you reading Poetry What, why would you read that, you are twelve Because I like the way it makes me feel Don’t blame me…

You won’t become the writer of your dreams if you quit too early — New writers often fail before they begin, defeated by the illusion talent exists in everyone but them. You write for a year or two then quit, telling yourself you will never succeed because you were not born with the talent to be a writer of merit. These potential writers read…