“What did I ever do to you?” “You tried to kill me and destroy this entire planet.” “Apart from that.” – The Doctor and Margaret Blaine (Blon Fel-Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen) in “Boom Town” by Russell T...

“I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.” — Eleanor Roosevelt I count myself lucky. My parents always encouraged my curiosity. When I showed an interest in the old silents shown on our local PBS station, the house slowly began to fill with...

“To err is human. To blame it on somebody else is even more human.” — Arthur Bloch Oh, you don’t know how much that was happening yesterday. Despite knowing I really needed to hunker down and do my words, the husband and I took off to see a show taping. Left work at noon — and everything started to go wrong. Lunch took longer to get...

“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?” — George Eliot I learned yesterday that an on-line friend had passed away unexpectedly. I’d only had the chance to meet him once, several years ago, but he was as lovely in person as he was in his posts and emails. When discussions grew heated in a group, he...

“My notes are written in blood on the sand, the same as any writer.” — J. Michael Strackzynski Y’know, there are moments when the quote just kinda says it all. Welcome to week three of NaNoWriMo, halfway through and the moment when we start wondering, “What was I thinking?” Maybe it’s, “What was I thinking signing up...

“If you are going through hell, keep going.” — Winston Churchill I’m behind again. I have a choice; I can call it quits or keep going. At this point, I’m going to keep going because I’m tired of not writing. That’s why NaNo is important to me; the clock starts on November 1 and while I don’t always do as well as I...

“Anyone can dabble, but once you’ve made that commitment, your blood has that particular thing in it, and it’s very hard for people to stop you.” — Bill Cosby It might be hard for other people to stop you, but surprisingly easily for us to stop ourselves. I’ve got a short story which should have been finished Monday. ...

“To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” — George Orwell I don’t think Orwell was necessarily talking about writing, but it certainly fits. Whether it’s life or writing, when you’re in the thick of things, it’s terribly easy to lose one’s way. You lose the plot and a hundred pages...

Instead of thinking on NaNo as a way to sell a book or not, how about using it as an opportunity to make writing central to your schedule? — Lauren Dane I found the above courtesy of Alison Kent, and it’s exactly what I was talking about yesterday. Too damn easy to let life get in the way of the important things, and if one is going to write —...

“I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by.” — Douglas Adams I have always been a huge fan of Douglas Adams. Most folks remember him for his brilliant Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The Dirk Gently Holistic Detective Agency, but he was also responsible for the wonderful Doctor Who episode...