Story time… it’s a long one I am nearing the end of the writing process for my first book manuscript. It is a historical fiction novel aimed at middle readers (typically defined ages 9-12, although I’ll admit that the vocabulary is rather more advanced than most 9-10-year-old children). The novel is the first in what…
Category: Life
Peaks & Valleys
I have been unemployed now for almost six weeks. More accurately, I have been minimally employed for almost six weeks. Last November, after a summer of lots of soul searching, I decided that the time had come for me to quit my full-time day job to have more time for working on books (three very…
A Year in Review
There’s nothing quite so humbling as revisiting the goals/resolutions/lists set for oneself 360-odd days ago. This year, I fairly often referenced the goals I set out to do back in January. I actually did a decent job at producing what I set out to accomplish regarding writing, giving generously, making new recipes (72 to date…
Just be
In general, I have a very hard time not multi-tasking and an even more difficult time fully relaxing to enjoy a moment. My body and my brain move extremely fast. I unintentionally leave most people in my dust on “leisurely” walks because my legs move swiftly. I like to squeeze a workout in to 10…
Waste not, want not
I was in the shower recently when I had a revelation. It came a moment after I quieted my spinning mind after having spent at least five minutes trying to feel how I was feeling. Was I anxious or did I have COVID or did the secondhand smoke from the previous night’s Elton John concert…
Looking back. Moving forward.
reflect back on the year. Although the marking of a year is somewhat arbitrary given that time never stops or even pauses, the rhythm of pausing to celebrate the past 365 days in order to move on does seem to add value to my life each time I do it.
A deluge of consciousness
I “wrote” this blog post while taking a shower. Which is to say: creativity struck me at a very inconvenient time. If I’ve learned anything in my past few years working as a “creative” it is to crank content out when inspiration hits. So, instead of reading a book to gain continuing education credits for…
It’s ok to cry.
Obviously. And yet, when I found myself in the middle of a third eruption of inconsolable crying while having an emotional breakdown last week, I still felt ashamed of the tears streaming down my face. The reason for my dissolution of rationality was the fact that gowns I had ordered online for a gala event…
Make a practice to practice.
I started this blog in 2015, hoping to build a digital portfolio of both writing samples and personal reflections on the things that I found to be important and relevant. Also, I had just finished my master’s thesis and was trying to balance the stress and the tedium of searching for a job. Around that…
Closing Down a Decade
Earlier this week I crossed the threshold of a new decade. One that by no means have I been dreading, but rather anxiously awaiting what will be in store for me. My twenties were good to me. Honestly, they were great. Throughout the highs and lows of seasons of challenging personal development, navigating relationships, finishing…
L.M. Beatty 