One way to take a day off

“We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.”  

― Kurt Vonnegut

I'm visiting this sorely neglected blog to share some exciting news. After the Gazebo is now available for pre-order at Amazon and Rain Mountain Press. I hope you'll check it out. I am incredibly proud of the book and eager to share it with you.

I have a touch of stomach flu (not the ideal way to get me time), so I am off to watch Wild and hang out with my dog. Before I go, though, here's a quick prompt: 

Read and reread your favorite poem. Take the premise and run with it as a short story. Or vice versa. I assure you, this prompt will take you places wholly unexpected.

xo Jen

A long weekend

I took a long weekend to relax a bit, to write and recharge. I feel fortified. Sometimes it feels as though I need to schedule time to breathe, then when I do have time I forget how to relax. I know I'm not the only writer who feels like this. For those of us, here's a prompt I offer as a writing coach:

1. Set a timer for five minutes and free-write.
2. Set a time for ten minutes and breathe. (Breathe and walk, breathe and meditate, or just stare out the window and breathe.)
3. Set a timer for ten minutes and write as fast s you possibly can. When you're done, hit save and go about your day.

This no-prompt exercise is something of a writing meditation, and it's designed to clear the slate and take a writer completely out of the day-to-day.

In writing news: I have a brand new piece up at The Saturday Evening Post. News on After the Gazebo is forthcoming. Big news. Huge. :)

Enjoy your week, and remember to breathe!

xo Jen