Over ten years ago, I took a class on adult psychology in a small classroom on Pill Hill in Seattle. The professor stood in front of us in a button up shirt with slacks that blended into the dark background of the room behind. As he described his experience of a wrenching divorce, he said he… Read more
Inspiration
The moment I waved the gate card at the unresponsive lock, I knew I should have read the email before making the hour and a half drive out to Lake Trask. My boys and I looked up to see the sign on the gate boldly telling us to park our vehicle and check in at… Read more
The other day my son said, “You know you’ve got a LOT of books on writing on your bookshelf. Have you read all of those?” Mostly, I told him. (He wasn’t particularly impressed — just astounded that I could stay focused for that long on reading books about putting words on paper.) And he doesn’t even… Read more
A short while back, I listened to a T.V. screenwriter explain his process while making the series Colony. Carlton Cuse described a large room filled with writers throwing ideas around the room that bounced off of one another and grew bigger, taking shape and then forming storylines. The creator of the series Lost told the interviewer he… Read more
I am stuck. I have a deadline of May 19th to finish revising my novel and it won’t let me move forward. Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten side tracked with writing for the band I play with. Maybe it’s because the day job has been especially demanding lately. Maybe it’s because the cottonwood covering the… Read more
Special Note: This is a piece I wrote for the Puyallup Valley Community Band, a group I rehearse and perform with throughout the year. It’s a wonder to me that music can mean so much to so many at all ages. For Katriel Looney, reeds are the biggest problem with playing the clarinet. It’s a constant… Read more
I do kid crafts. Sometimes I do them without kids. My latest big idea was a Leap Year Day with a frog theme. (Get it? Leap? Frog? I found this grand idea surfing around the Internet.) I planned to make a time capsule out of a Pringles can, green construction paper and various cheap decor… Read more
When we first got on the ferry on our way to an island last week, I told my sons to look closely for whales. I had never yet seen one in the wild and always wanted to catch a glimpse. Maybe, I thought, today would be the day. They hang out in the waters near… Read more