When I was in high school, I learned the phrase “functional fixedness” which is the inability to see potential beyond an item’s initial purpose. I experienced this when I failed to see the potential (and indeed, the design) behind my new mascara.
Read moreThings I Didn't Know I Didn't Know: 2024 Edition
Photo credit: Ana Municio @lamunix via Unsplash
Each February I make a list of some of the top things I’ve learned in the past year.
Turns out, I know less and less. (How motivating would that slogan have been in the 80s? “The Less You Knooooow…” Cue shooting star, music, end of commercial break.)
Here’s what 2023 Taught Me:
Read moreLUNCHTIME POLL with Charlotte Rains Dixon
Meet Charlotte!
The great-granddaughter of pioneers who walked across the Oregon Trail, Charlotte Rains Dixon considers herself a westerner through and through. Many of her stories are set in her home state of Oregon, where her characters reside in fictional versions of her favorite wine area and coast towns, as well as Portland, where she lives.
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Today I am SOOOOO EXCITED to interview my friend and OG writing coach, the incredible Charlotte Rains Dixon!
The great-granddaughter of pioneers who walked across the Oregon Trail, Charlotte Rains Dixon considers herself a westerner through and through. Many of her stories are set in her home state of Oregon, where her characters reside in fictional versions of her favorite wine area and coast towns, as well as Portland, where she lives.
When not writing fiction, Charlotte teaches writing in England, the south of France, and around the Pacific Northwest. She also coaches writers privately. She is Director Emeritus and a current mentor at the Writer's Loft, a certificate-in-writing program at Middle Tennessee State University. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Spalding University and is the author of The Bonne Chance Bakery and Emma Jean’s Bad Behavior.
Read moreLUNCHTIME POLL with D. Allyson Howlett
This month we are talking music, writing challenges, and genre-hopping with the marvelous, musical, multi-talented D.Allyson Howlett.
About the Author: D. Allyson Howlett is a millennial wordsmith living in a farm town in rural New Hampshire. Her most favorite things are the smell of autumn air, s'mores by the campfire, and nacho pro-wrestling nights with her family. She is the author of 'A Playlist Kinda Love Story' series and a ghostly novella.
This month we are talking about writing challenges and genre-hopping with the marvelous, musical, multi-talented D.Allyson Howlett.
About the Author: D. Allyson Howlett is a millennial wordsmith living in a farm town in rural New Hampshire. Her most favorite things are the smell of autumn air, s'mores by the campfire, and nacho pro-wrestling nights with her family. She is the author of 'A Playlist Kinda Love Story' series and a ghostly novella.
Season's Readings
One of the best things the internet ever did was to introduce me to the holiday of Jólabókaflóðið.
Jólabókaflóðið (or Jolabokaflod) means “Christmas book flood” and is the Icelandic tradition of gifting and reading books on December 24 while drinking cocoa or non-alcoholic ale.
What follows is a list of my favorite Jolabokaflod reads. I hope you enjoy, and maybe even find a new favorite yourself.
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