To get a 9-to-5 job, or be a writer and editor…

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A recent conversation with a close friend of mine (the godmother for my children) started me thinking about the decisions I’ve made in life and wondered why those decisions were made. I don’t think about this wondering if any other choices could have existed — in truth, I feel that my current path was always meant to be my path — but why do I feel so free making a life-changing decision that others find so difficult? Why did I quit my 9-to-5 job and decide to become a full-time writer and freelance editor?Read More→

Where are the toilets in fiction?

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Years ago, in a critique of one of my fictional works, a major plot hole was pointed out to me that involved toileting of all things. You read that right, folks. I had an issue related to the poohs and wees.

So here’s the scenario: two warriors were being held prisoner, their hands and feet bound. Within the original story timeline, they were bound for two weeks, but at least were feed and watered. Not once did the narrative mention anything about the characters being allowed to relieve themselves.

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A Quake to Change Your World

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The low rumble barely registered in her subconscious. The small shakes of the bed were enough to pull her from her sleep.

"Great," she mumbled. "Gijs is having another asthma attack."

With a sudden jolt, the bed jumped across the floor and banged into the wall. The teddy bears and dolls tumbled through the air.

Her eyes flew open, able to see clearly in the darkened room. The roar filled the ears and the walls moved sideways. Beside her, her husband snorted.

"My god, he's still asleep!" She swung her arm out as hard as she could on the bucking bed and hit him in his stomach.

"What… What is—"

"It's an earthquake!"

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All writers have to begin somewhere…

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When a writer is asked about how they started writing, the answers are varied. However, if one thinks about it, all writers start their journey at a very young age. In school, we all have those creative writing assignments, even if we dread them.

Recently, I was challenged to find a piece of writing from those early years. Here is just one of the gems that I found which dates back to 1989, when I was in 3rd Form (8th Grade for those of you in the US). I resisted the urge to edit this piece (and it wasn’t easy), but even in its raw state, it still made me giggle.Read More→

The Toilet is Historic…

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It's amazing how time just seems to creep by. Before we realise it, months have whizzed by. I feel like that at the moment. So much is going on, and I've only just realised that I still haven't finished my wonderful list of names for toilets. To my readers, I must apologise for this.

Sunrise Comfort Station

Sunrise Comfort Station. Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA (Source: Wikipedia)

In doing my research for this particular post, I was thrown by some of the names for toilets. What I thought was just some joking name, making me laugh, turned out to be a real name with historic traditions associated. On this particular list, it was Comfort Station that surprised me the most.

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