One of the hardest lessons you might learn in life is that there will be seasons when your greatest joy will be other people's joy. That when your own well runs dry, you mustn't be jealous of other people's water. And just because happiness is scarce doesn't mean you should withhold it altogether. ©️ Katie … Continue reading The Hardest Part
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My Mind is a Mirror
Some mornings my mind lies as still as a pond. Can you see it? A platinum sheet. Tufts of steam shimmering in the air. Beautiful but still. Where are the words? Hidden somewhere beneath that molten mirror. Hidden by the reflection of the high cirrus skies. Down with the fish, darting in the shadows. They … Continue reading My Mind is a Mirror
Writer’s Hibernation
All writers enjoy times when the words zing from their fingertips, but just like blue skies and sunshine, that energy doesn't always stay. You wonder--- where do the words go when the mood clouds shift? Are writers like bears? Do they need to hibernate --- store up the fat and juice of life? Sit awhile … Continue reading Writer’s Hibernation
Power Play
Competition teaches you things about yourself. Super competitive v. quitter? How to win. How to lose. Honest v. Cheater? Every spring, my workplace does a walk/run challenge. The rules are simple, and there are many rewards to be given out. Hit a specific weekly mileage--- bam! You're entered into a drawing. But of course, there … Continue reading Power Play
The Problem with Profanity
I struggle sometimes, as a writer and as a Christian, with profanity. I've always taken the stance that I will use profanity in my writing when it feels applicable to a character or the narrative. However, it comes time to publish and share something, and I begin to feel self-conscious about my Christian friends reading … Continue reading The Problem with Profanity
History-Blind
The river gathers the PA announcer's voice and propels it across town toward me. The sound collects, echoing, beneath the empty metal canopy over the ice rink. For a moment, the voice bounces around the vacant concrete as if a phantom hockey game is being played. "Corning goal number blah-blah. Tanner Somebody." I chuckle to … Continue reading History-Blind
Unraveling Time
The line of people loops from the casket through the viewing room, past the front door, and through the second viewing room, where it angles and turns back on itself again in a narrow hallway. Outside, the wind skirls in the lavender twilight and slings the newly budded branches of a flowering tree back and … Continue reading Unraveling Time
Good Writing, Hard Discipline
What I love about writing--- You can let yourself slip into any setting--- any story. You can close your eyes on a summer day and transport yourself to a platinum-colored winter night where the velvet dark huddles beneath the fir trees. You can slip from the fog and rain of the northeast to the cicada-filled, … Continue reading Good Writing, Hard Discipline
The Depths of Procrastination
I walk out to my kitchen. The cold floor tiles numb my bare feet, but I stand at the sink for a moment. I’m avoiding things. A pile of things. I reach over for my stainless steel french press. The plunger makes a metallic zing when I remove it from the carafe. Oh, yes, I’m … Continue reading The Depths of Procrastination
Talking to Yourself
How do you keep someone from becoming a ghost? Write things down. Make the memories more concrete. Life is transient in more ways than we imagine. You take things for granted. You imagine certain people and things as part of your life forever. However we don't realize we are creatures who live with an ever-present … Continue reading Talking to Yourself
Seeking Prose 