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As I Ponder and Query: Inspiration, Jordan’s Sister Update
I have been furiously editing Jordan’s Sister over the summer while my test readers enjoyed the story. Each of them found different things that I hadn’t. Editing my own work is the most difficult task, but it is also the most rewarding. Finding a better, smoother way to say what I need to in order to convey the right meaning is satisfying. I’m proud of my work. Each day, I am a better writer than I was the day before. It was different writing Jordan’s Sister than Caroline’s Lighthouse because I wasn’t pulling heavily from previous material. Caroline’s Lighthouse was a rewrite of a story I wrote at 15—the most polished…
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What does depression (and anxiety) look like?
Most commercials for antidepressants show people in despair, lying on a couch crying or dressed in baggy clothing with unkempt hair. Is that what depression looks like? Yes. Sometimes. But often, depression can look like a person who has their shit together. A career woman who gets things done. A soccer mom with perfect hair and perfect kids. A lawyer. A doctor. A musician. An artist. A movie star. A writer. Me. Anxiety medication ads often depict a person having a panic attack, complete with hyperventilating, rapid heartbeat and sweating. So that’s what anxiety looks like, right? Sure. Sometimes. It also can look like standoffishness. Indifference. Disengagement. Irritability. Forgetfulness. Me.
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Nine months in: Writing Updates and Jordan’s Sister info
It has been nine months since I started this blog. Nine whole months—long enough to grow a human being. Since the launch, it’s had 1,056 unique users view a total of 5,515 pages. I know it’s not huge numbers, but to get to that many in nine months is an accomplishment I am proud of. Wow. Also, on Twitter, I have gone from two followers in July to 1,230 as of this morning. On July 15, I shared my writing journey on Facebook with a “coming soon” teaser picture for Caroline’s Lighthouse. That YA novel, dreamed up in early 1997 when I was only 15, is now available for purchase in paperback…
