The Writing

I Guess You Could Say I’ve Always Written

Of course it started out as journaling, eventually changed into stories for my children, then short stories for adult readers, and finally a full-fledged novel. Rewriting and editing that first novel for years helped me gain the necessary writing skills to move on to the next book…and the next. I’m currently working on my fifth novel, but I’ve branched out into other creative writing arenas, such as poetry. I learn something new about myself, and my writing, every time I try something new. Below is a sampling of my poems and short stories. I hope they bring you some pleasure.

Haiku Poems

I started writing haiku poems in High School, after learning about them in English class. I enjoyed them so much my friends and relatives started giving me haiku books as gifts. I love the fact haiku poems are so limited in format, yet sometimes hold big thoughts. And I’m attracted to the aspect that they can be the most simple observations—ones we often miss in our busy lives. And of course anything that is based in nature has my interest. In fact, it’s my own photos taken outside that often inspire my next poem. Every Monday I share a new haiku poem I’ve written and post it on Facebook and on Twitter. I invite you to check them out.

Flash Fiction

Short Stories, especially Flash Fiction, are difficult for me, I love having an entire novel to flesh out characters and reveal the plot. The shorter format forces me to think differently. So I like to challenge myself by entering contests or using writing prompts on occasion.
Back Home Again in Indiana won an Honorable Mention from a Writers Digest contest. I originally believed it was more of a consolation prize for entering.
I later discovered that it was a pretty big deal. I was told (by someone who used to work for Writers Digest) that they don’t just hand those awards out to everyone and I should be extremely proud about receiving it. So I had the certificate framed. Nice!