Sharing my journey as a writer also includes an occasional request. Today, I need your thoughts—from both readers and writers! After working with my editor on Seam Keepers, set to launch in 2021, it only makes sense to set aside my new book project, Life Song, to write the next book in the Keeper series. It’s reassuring to know that Life Song is still there, outlined, started, and ready to […]
I love a good metaphor. Similes make me smile. Describe, describe, describe! Isn’t that the expectation of a writer? My answer? To an extent. Sometimes I run with language too far in my manuscripts. This morning, as I peered out my window, the season called to me, and I listened. How timely that I am editing my book in October. Instead of combing over every sentence for mistakes, I imagined […]
There’s a certain dazzle that surrounds me when I attend a writer’s conference. I’ve come far from my first experience in 2017, where I ate lunch in my car and sat solo in the back of every workshop. By 2019, I had made new friends through a PNWA writing class. And since then, many of my classmates and I still meet regularly in a critique group. As many authors tend […]
Filter Flops in Writing When I curl up to read a good book, I don’t want the author putting a safety glass between me and the story. I want to be right there in the action. I want to feel the frustration, the sorrow, or the zeal of each character. I am referring to filters, of which I did not realize I, myself, unintentionally add to my writing. Time to […]
September marks my three-year anniversary with my writing blog, Steps In Between. I am grateful for my readers, encouraged in my progress as a writer, and elated for the new year ahead. First on the list: a remodel! Maybe I’ve been watching too much HGTV this summer, but it’s time to update and renew. I am going to be reworking some of my blog and linking it to my brand-new […]
Lately, I am more than writing. I am more than editing. I am more than revising my manuscript. Instead, I am concise, and direct, and intentional with every word on the page. This includes every word trimmed from the page, as well. As a story seamstress, I am doing just that with my manuscript, Seam Keepers; I am hemming up every scene, every page, every paragraph. Less is more. I’m […]
Somehow August has arrived, with sunshine and summer in tow. It felt so far away, back in March, when isolation started. But here we are. And after a long lull in my poetry inspiration, I’m back to writing more fluently again! Last month I wrote three poems for my Wednesday Whims page, plus a couple online workshop pieces, and a few others to hopefully send out for submissions (so I […]
Pocket planning! That’s what I’m working on right now. With book two underway, and my mission to de-pants myself…ummm, what I mean is, curb my pantser-instead-of-plotting tendencies, I aim to become more of a planner. Of course, I am NOT a planner by nature, so I’m on the hunt, finding simple solutions to trick my brain into the idea. Could I be wasting time as a writer? Could this process […]
I am a goal-setter. Although to be honest, I don’t always look back and reflect. Sometimes I just keep going, setting new or abbreviated goals along the way. But today, with the accomplishment of one very important goal that’s pushed me to drive through long nights and torrential downpours, I have found reason to reflect. And I believe it is important to share for all the writers out there who […]
Flowers are a lovely gift for many celebratory occasions. But for me, I also like blooms of another kind. This year for Mother’s Day, my daughter gifted me a membership to MasterClass, and I am in love with this bouquet of possibility and growth. I cannot rate this program because I’ve only just begun, but after choosing my classes this morning, I have chills in anticipation. The reviews are quite […]
Oh, the possibilities of accomplishment in the extra hours of house arrest, due to COVID-19…or so it seems. I thought for sure I would be further along in my new book draft. I would submit poetry for publication every day. I would catch up on quality family time, organize my closet, spring clean my house…all in a Mary Poppins sort of way. With our world home-bound in mandated isolation, why […]
With April abloom, we are more than midway through National Poetry Month. If you have been following along with Steps In Between, you know we are reveling in this event by sharing poetry from writers all over the world. Their names are listed below, but read on for a quick bit of well-filling inspiration… POETS below in alphabetical order, their poems can be found at this link: https://stepsinbetween.com/2020/04/05/let-the-words-roam-national-poetry-month-april-2020/ Yvonne Brewer (Spring Sends […]
This year, our entire world is isolated and locked down during National Poetry Month. But I say, let the words roam! Let them “beat upon your head like silver liquid drops” (Langston Hughes, April Rain Song, 2)! Let them singe from your fingertips as you write and embrace your heart as you read. I say, fill this time of fear and instability from an enemy-virus with grace and hope and […]
Do I really need another writer’s checklist? I do. I’ve discovered it’s needed for my own growth. Only six years into writing for myself, and three years into writing more publicly, I am in great need of accountability and push-on-abilty. And, sometimes I forget the pure satisfaction in checking off an item on my list. Maybe I should add, celebrate checking off the checklist, onto my list. I find my […]
Happy earliest Spring since 1896! In celebration, come join our “Community Garden” of Poetry! This year March 19th marked the Spring Equinox, and with world-wide isolation and the stuffiness of staying home, I am ready to burst into something beautiful and colorful and flowerful! In less than two weeks April arrives signaling…National Poetry Month! So, let’s celebrate with a garden of poetry from everyone in my writing community! It’s “Community […]
My unPoetry Post ~ Still a Celebration Happy first of March! Outside my window there’s sunshine, stripes of blue sky, and the trill of birds. While I’m breathing in the fresh breath of a new season, it’s unfortunately amidst a cloudiness of pressure still heaped on my back. The first Sunday of every month I always invite readers to visit my Wednesday Whims of Poetry page: https://stepsinbetween.com/poetry/. This monthly sharing […]
Writers Need Writers! Lunch with friends is always a joyful experience. When written on my calendar, it becomes a beacon of light to look forward to. And now I have a new “lunch with friends 2.0” to share: lunch with writer friends! Writers typically work alone. Isolation is required in the realms of creation, but sometimes we need to poke our heads out and interact with others. Yesterday, I had […]
Intentionally, I took a day off from writing. Yes, it was Valentine’s Day, international day of love, but also, my Anniversary. With a double holiday (as I like to call it), I always take the whole day off from every other thing vying for my attention. The next day, I felt refreshed and ready to write! Whatever day works for you, be it a holiday or just a typical Tuesday, […]
Welcome to another CC’s Interview Series, where once again I am settled in my own city of Seattle. This time I am honored (and quite honestly, ecstatic) to be with writer and artist, Pamela Hobart Carter. I was the luckiest of hopeful writers, back in 2017, when seated next to Pamela at the PNWA Awards Ceremony Dinner. A funny story she might not know, I had been sitting somewhere else, […]
One + two + three + four + one = eleven A little challenge, a little math, and a lot of poetry! I love my writing community, for a multitude of reasons, but today I am thankful for Charles Lindholm’s poetry challenge: to write an Elfchen. After I bit into one, I couldn’t help tasting a few more. Suddenly, I’m throwing a party and WOW, what an event it has […]
After five-plus years of writing my finally finished book, Seam Keepers, a burning new story has sparked into life. Although I am still in the querying stage of my first book, I can’t seem to snuff the light from this new idea seeking passage to the page. And though Seam Keepers has a sequel in need of completing, this new story inspiration doesn’t seem to mind sharing in the limelight. […]
I am thankful for a December look-back. The first Sunday of a new month is an invitation to visit my poetry page, Wednesday Whims of Poetry. It’s that beginning of a new month where I encourage reflection from the month before…before it’s gone. Time moves like a sleepless night. It flows whether we’re caught up or ready, and tirelessly we move forward because it’s the only direction to go. But […]
November finds us with another “CC’s Interview Series,” where I share the thoughts and hearts of writers and creators. After last month’s poetic conversation with Ann Christine Tabaka, across the states in Delaware, today I’m nestled into the heart of my own hometown. Seattle is the setting and we’re shifting the focus to fiction. I am eager to introduce you to Christine Grabowski, a dynamic YA author, editor, and speaker. So, […]
I am thrilled to kick off my new “CC’s Interview Series” with poet friend and 2017 Pushcart nominee, Ann Christine Tabaka. Although she lives across the nation from me, in Delaware, it feels as if we are sitting together in a warm and cozy coffee shop. The scent of cappuccino fills the air as our poet’s inspiration and experience weave an intricate story. Please, pull up a chair, fill your […]
Writing feels like an ocean today. Currants forcing deep swells instead of the gentle spume of a slow tide. Long past are the beachy days of writing to my heart’s content, although I will vacation again, intentionality is now my emphasis. And that’s okay. It’s time for me to focus on the author realities I’ve been dreaming about. I wrote a book. A story that wriggled its way from my […]
Friends know I submit a lot because I talk about it a lot. Now maybe five* more friends, (THANKS, READERS!) who live farther away, and don’t talk with me as much, will know too. I’ve mentioned that my rejections have been improving lately. Each nice rejection thrills and disappoints me. Here’s the June-mid-August tally: 30 […]
Please read the article above from writer friend and published author, Pamela Hobart Carter. She shares the ups and downs…but ultimately ups in this writing lifestyle we vulnerably wade through. She is an inspiration to me, and I hope she’ll become an inspiration to you.
Happy Sunday and Happy Writing (because at least you’re writing),
Celaine Charles, August 25, 2019
Steps In Between 