How many of you have already abandoned your New Year’s Resolutions? Hey—don’t worry! Here’s a new idea! Focus instead on recycled goals from previous years. If recycling is good enough for the environment, then it’s good enough for me!
Writers, have you unintentionally created layers between your characters and your readers? It’s time to close the gap. Once I learned how to spot these scratchy filter words, my writing became more snug!
Often, I have wished for more time, or more of me to tackle the work and writing I must complete. Most writers, like myself, have a day job. Writing is something we generally must squeeze in between life. For most, that’s career obligations and family responsibilities. And when there’s more than one writing project to manage, time is split even further. I often feel like a Matryoshka Doll, those Russian […]
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 […]
The world may seem to be spiraling, as of late, out of the grasp of creativity. But writers persevere. It’s been a while since my last interview, yet today, I have someone special to share. As unconventional and encouraging as ever, CC’s Interview Series is happy to welcome author of Earth Gospel, college professor, and one of my poetry mentors, Dr. Tamara Miles! I say unconventional interview because typically 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 […]
This morning arrived with joyful poetry play! Thank You to poet, author, and playwright, Pamela Hobart Carter for her most recent blog post, Make a Poem at Home: Poetry Lessons for Covid Times. (https://playwrightpam.wordpress.com/make-a-poem-at-home-poetry-lessons-for-covid-times/#like-841) As a fellow teacher of young children and a writer myself, I found encouragement and fun following her three creative ideas for writing poetry with young ones. I find these lessons appropriate for all ages! As […]
Happy July (even amongst the tattered reality of our season this year). It didn’t quite feel like Independence Day this time around, but I am hopeful to press on and not stop pressing until we can overcome and once again, gather together as family and friends, as humankind. I’m speaking out of isolation, out of racism, out of knee-deep misinterpretations and misunderstandings and misgivings and all kinds of hate…because underneath […]
Last week I shared real-life distractions blocking my creative pathway, even amid true inspiration. My readers delivered with caring advice, either through comments or private messages, and I am grateful. A few small suggestions helped me to make some slight alterations to my writing routine, which made all the difference. As a reference, please take a peek back at last week’s post: https://stepsinbetween.com/2020/06/21/creatively-crunched/ For starters, I took some time off […]
Sometimes, as a writer, even when I know what to write, my fingers hover above my keyboard in a clutched-claw formation. I don’t know how to describe this state other than it feels as if my creativity is crunched. I am full of ideas and motivation, but I waver back and forth between projects hardly completing a thing. Meanwhile, my writing to-do list grows longer. Why, when I sit down […]
Writing a book is a long and weary process. So, what did I do after accomplishing this great feat? I started in on the next novel. It’s a completely new story with new characters, new plots, new everything. But this time, I am tracking my steps along the way. This time I am hoping for more efficiency in my process. As this blog is my journey in writing, my new […]
I am finding it hard to write today. The first Sunday of every month is usually when I draw attention to my Wednesday Whims of Poetry Page, but not today. It’s difficult to think past all the inequities present in our world…today. After everything we know and hate about racism, it’s still headlining the news, and those are only the examples caught on camera. I guess I’ve always seen myself […]
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 […]
With the book that’s held my attention for the last several years complete, and in the hands of an editor (and soon to be published, late spring 2021), I now have the time to focus on a new story idea that’s been brewing in the back of my mind. I believed utilizing what I learned from my first book to begin my second book would make story-writing easier. But it […]
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 […]
Poem in your Pocket Day is April 30th this year, and the perfect send off to an unforgettable National Poetry Month. In some ways, perhaps more poetry was shared due to our isolation with Corona Virus. My hope, with all the sadness and anxiety, with the unfortunate souls lost to this pandemic, is that some how we manage to find reason and comfort within a string of words. This is […]
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 […]
Change and Patience (A Forced Pause in Writing) Change—not a new phenomenon. We are all facing change every day of our lives. But recently, reaching out to any social media or news source, the vast change affecting all of us worldwide is apparent. COVID-19 is demanding attention, and yes…all regularly scheduled life activities have been paused. Where does this leave me? I’m hunkered down at home and feeling out of […]
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, […]
My writing mind wriggles during down time, up time, in between time. Honestly, it never really ceases in its pursuit to create. The doctors diagnosed it as ADD, and although it can be frustrating at times (in the middle of a Tuesday night with a morning meeting in wait), I find it illuminating. Ideas spark at the glimpse of bulb plants sprouting from the cold January ground, warriors against frost. […]
January has unveiled its raw winter-ness. For Seattle, that blast of snowy chill equates to a romanticized sense of wonderland…well, for the writer in me. Maybe because I grew up where wintery-season months matched splendidly with all the storybooks from my childhood…snowfall under lamp posts, icicle-clad roof eaves…and my dad bundled under the warmth of his red flannel shirt, shoveling the drive. A favorite memory, relived year after year in […]
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’m two scenes into a new story idea, and I can’t wipe the grin off my face. There are still plot twists to create and character arcs to build but ringing in 2020 with a novel writing goal seems like a decade-worthy decision. It’s also a fresh new year for my blog, Steps In Between. The first Sunday of every month I typically pull your attention to my Wednesday Whims […]
Merry Merry Writers! This one is a throw-back from December 2017: (https://stepsinbetween.com/2017/12/24/merry-merry-socks-or-chocolate/). I believe still applies today. It’s a fun exercise that can also help put character feelings and back-story into perspective. Give it a try during this holiday season, when writing time can be scarce. Happy Everything You Celebrate, my readers. I appreciate you! And…Happy Writing (because at least you’re writing), Celaine Charles, December 22, 2019 Image and Content […]
I am writing in my fuzzy PJs, coffee swirling to my left, notes from my editor (and hopefully one day publisher) to my right. I’m planted at my desk, the place all good writing (and terrible, but I’m focusing on the positive) comes from. Imagination flowing like a crisp winter breeze? No, I’m caught up with seasonal shopping that isn’t going to find itself purchased and wrapped under my tree […]
Just because I’m a writer…author of my first poetry book…revising-expert of my fiction manuscript…and mostly nice human, doesn’t mean I have the business knowledge or wherewithal to market myself. This is the hardest part for me. More difficult than the writing itself; and writing is challenging. ***Side Note: At the bottom of this post you will find some links to marketing advice as well as a REQUEST for more resources. […]
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 […]
Beholden, grateful, obliged, and bound…how many other words might describe the thankfulness in my heart. This is the season where I wind down, follow that trickle of thought from mind to heart. That gleaming light from purpose to fingertips because when creating, that’s where things get done. I’ve found the writing side of who I am, depicted this way, as I’m certain it’s been with me my whole life. I […]
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 was at a loss as to what to write today, especially with Veteran’s Day tomorrow. I am from a military family, so Veteran’s Day always reminds me of them. My mom and dad, my sister and brother-in-law, my uncle, my in-laws, my extended family and friends…I know so many people who have served to preserve our country. From the bottom of my heart, thank you! A common thread […]
November Poetry, of course! If you follow me, you know I am overly inspired by fall. I apologize to my fiction writers out there, story-writing is also a passion of mine. But here we are in the heart of the season (and the first Sunday of a new month), thus I am sharing my poetry page (https://stepsinbetween.com/poetry/). I’ve even written a new poem for my readers…it’s at the bottom […]
It’s that time of year again when the moon takes on an eerie glow, much brighter above darker autumn evenings. This strange little season starts in the grocery stores, far too early, in September. Although candy sales aren’t the greatest of deals when you down every morsel before the first ding-dong of trick-or-treaters. But, nearer than a roaming spirit, the holiday is upon is. And as much as I dislike […]
I am writing with the rain this morning. The house is quiet, as still as the cup of coffee steaming at my side. At the moment, it’s a calmness quite far from the workings in my mind. As a writer of poetry and fiction, a teacher of young students, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend…I feel overwhelmed today. Tranquil time is hard to come by […]
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 […]
https://stepsinbetween.com/poetry/ (Wednesday Whims of Poetry) September sunsets strike my soul, but not because the other months lack in opportunity to produce gorgeous sunsets. Rather, I believe it’s the heart’s way of gathering warm hues before the season shifts and Summer’s gone. A quiet way to remember the gifts of frolic and abandon. Gratefulness for the extra hours of daylight; our touché to time. This year, instead of sadness and mourning, […]
Steps In Between is celebrating two years! This number may not sound as impressive as twelve or twenty, but to say I’ve posted 208 times is a huge accomplishment (personally). I’ve posted writing-journey articles every Sunday, and I’ve shared a poem to my Wednesday Whims of Poetry page every Wednesday for the last two years. That’s 104 articles and 104 poems! In addition, I’m thrilled and amazed (and exhausted) yet […]
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 […]
A few hours ago, with exhaustion pooling at my ankles, I arrived home from the PNWA Writing Conference. My mind is still swimming with information, inspiration, and a little apprehension (although not enough to pull me under). Just last week I posted the good, the bad, and the ugly of this anticipated event, yet happily I can report it was all positive and worthwhile. First of all, I had a […]
My Upcoming Writing Conference (the good, the bad, and the ugly): The PNWA Writing Conference happens in less than a week in Seattle. This is a good news-bad news event for me. As eager as I am to soak in all the learning presented and meet other authors and writers, I still consider myself new in this writing world, and to be honest, I’m intimidated. Thankfully, my whole writing class […]
Summer Slows into a Rainbow of Light: September’s Poetry Celebration Summer is slowing. I can already feel the heat against my back on this first day of September. But there is much to appreciate in these last rays of light. It’s the first Sunday of a new month, so that means we celebrate poetry here at Steps in Between. Today is even more colorful, though, as I have a rainbow […]
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
Live a Little, Write a Lot! Story bits and poem parts bombard my thoughts on a regular basis…but only when I escape my writing desk and explore the world around, do they grow into full-fledged ideas. Part of my writing regime is getting out from behind the work and living. I used to believe I had to escape from life to write, an arduous task when I teach by day […]
Steps In Between 