When my brother was in high school, he took a photography class that stretched his creativity. One of the assignments was to find objects that formed the letters A to Z. It was fascinating to see common items transformed into letter shapes. I decided to do a quick repeat of this idea—but with punctuation. Here’s what I found: Backslash \ Colon : Dash – Exclamation … Continue reading Punctuation is Everywhere!!
I was on a panel the other day and had to answer a question about deliberateness—that is, do I insert particular messages and themes? I answered that I’m an organic writer, but upon reflection, I do incorporate intentional elements: family, community, justice, self-discovery… And now as I’m working on my current draft, I’ve been more mindful about word choice and contemporary issues—not to the extent … Continue reading Practicing Mindfulness
Even though I know that taxes (and death) are certain, I feel like I’m always ill-prepared. And this year seemed to be full of mishaps. So, without further ado, here’s my Top Ten List of personal #taxfails this season: 10) Procrastinated. Despite having the date automatically labeled in my calendar, my sense of time got muddled around March. Then, all of a sudden, I discovered … Continue reading Top Ten #TaxFails
We recently had the Los Angeles Marathon, and two of my family members (spoiler: not me) ran it! It’s been said that writing is like a marathon, but is it really? The quote is often attributed to Robert McKee, and as I combed through running pics, I reflected on this analogy. Here’s my takeaway: SIMILARITIES Mileage 26.2 miles. Friends, this is long. Runners trekked from … Continue reading Is Writing Really Like A Marathon?
My desire to escape to the past could be due to the news. Or maybe I just need a different creative outlet than writing. Whatever the case, I’ve been leaning in on retro clothing choices. Okay, so I’ve always had a penchant to dress in period pieces (hello, poodle skirt for Halloween!). And I admit to having gone in themed outfits to match musicals (see … Continue reading Going Retro
It’s 2026? It’s 2026! I felt like the end of the year kinda bled into the new one. But maybe that’s because I didn’t ring in the new year. Confession: I couldn’t even muster the energy to watch the ball drop. I also didn’t make a resolution or write a one-word goal. But I actually do enjoy the idea of new beginnings. And, clearly, I’m … Continue reading New Year, New Book, New Vision
The other day, my family and I went to the seaside, where I spotted objects floating in the water. “See those buoys!” I said, pronouncing the word like boys, whereupon the rest of my family looked at me oddly. They corrected me, stretching “buoy” into two syllables, more like boo-ee. (To be fair, after some online digging, it seems like the latter is the American … Continue reading Readers Who Mispronounce
Happy Halloween! 🎃I’m a chicken Chick when it comes to spooky things. But I like surviving exploits and mildly scary happenings. Take, for example, my recent Fairbanks, Alaska trip. (Spoiler: I did not see the aurora, which would have featured amazingly spooky spectacular lights.) Scary Airplane Experiences ✈️ If I didn’t know before that I would be an #AmazingRaceFail, I know now. On the way … Continue reading Semi-Scary Alaskan Shenanigans
I’ve been asked many times in a panel whether I’m a plotter or pantser. I generally land in the middle. (Although since my publisher prefers having a synopsis, I’ve veered more toward plotting.) For traveling, though, I’m a serious plotter. I’ve tried before to be more “spontaneous,” and it just ends up with people sitting around staring at each other and doing nothing. To maximize … Continue reading Travel Style: Plotter or Pantser?
Hey! Jen here with a personal update… It’s been said that you’ve gotta kill your darlings when writing. Now, I get to do it in real life. While I’m not killing a darling, I do generally like keeping my organs around. Sadly, I’ve had this growing fibroid (aka Fran), who’s been lurking and taking over others’ space. Fran has recently been bullying my bladder and … Continue reading Guess I Don’t Really Need This Organ…
The other day, I went down memory lane, thinking about a song from my childhood. It’s one that I hummed as a kid whenever I felt discouraged, like when I transferred elementary schools. Recesses felt so long and awkward back then… For the life of me, I couldn’t remember the exact title. I mean, I hadn’t heard it in decades. Besides, it was an old … Continue reading What’s That Song Again?
As a kid, our field trip to the Capitol was to…Sacramento. I always envied those kids on the East Coast who got to visit DC. And even though I’ve been to Malice Domestic a few times, the closest I got to the National Mall was watching it stream by a window. This past President’s Day weekend, though, we traveled to Washington, D.C. to cheer on … Continue reading Whirlwind DC Weekend
Chicks on the Case 