What is a BFF?

Do you have a BFF?  Nicole and Charlotte, of Sweet Salt Air, are that – at least until Charlotte confesses to having wronged Nicole in a totally reprehensible way. Nicole is devasted.  “I thought you were my BFF,” she cries in the scene I just wrote, and goes on to say, “A BFF is supposed…

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When to take the car keys from elderly parents

I need to write about this, if only to get it off my chest.  There was a piece on Nightly News recently – actually, it aired on February 16 and has haunted me ever since.  How do you know, Brian Williams asked, when the time comes to take the car keys away from elderly parents? …

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Where does the dock go in winter?

We were at the lake last weekend, looking out our windows at the winterness of it all.  Winterness?  Try bleakness.  There isn’t much snow this year, and the lake hasn’t frozen thickly.  Local officials actually had to modify the rules for the annual ice fishing derby weekend, because the ice wasn’t thick enough to support…

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Instant gratification

What does it for you?  Is it a scoop of peanut butter straight from the jar at nine at night?  A pithy few words shouted at the driver who cuts you off?  For me, it’s a quick knitting project. I’m a sock addict.  But socks take a long time to make and, often, great concentration. …

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The humiliation of airport security

I fly often and am pretty immune to security demands, but yesterday was the worst.  My husband and I were going through security at Reagan National in Washington, D.C.  I had loaded the bins with my coat, my scarf, my boots, and my liquids.  When I approached the scanner, the security guard (male) indicated that…

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How emotional am I writing my characters’ emotions?

I’m on a Sweet Salt Air roll, so this blog won’t be long.  But I’m asked this question often.  Do I feel what I write?  If my characters are shocked, do I feel the shock?  If they’re heartsick, do I cry?  And yes – someone recently asked this in a blog comment – if they’re…

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Downtime

I did nothing last weekend.  Nothing.  And it was hard.  I am fully serious when I say that.  I’m not used to doing nothing.  I kept jumping up,ready to do laundry or pay bills or check email or blog.  For me, doing is a visceral thing. I’m a workaholic, but you may have already guessed…

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