Author Archives: storytellergirlgrace

5 Beautiful Words

Posted in Music, Movies, and other Muses by

As a writer, I of course love words. I love words for their individual meanings, the way they work with other words in a sentence or a paragraph. I love how a single word at the right time can elicit strong emotion or deep thought. And some words just sound beautiful, too.

I wrote a post a while back about a few of my favorite words (note – only one word on that list is in my native language of English). So on this list, I’m including two words from my favorites list, plus three others that I think are beautiful in both sound and meaning.

Ljósmóðir – literally translated from the Icelandic, this word means “light-mother,” but it’s used as the term for “midwife.” Not only does it sound beautiful to the ear, but the definition embodies the beauty of bringing new light and life into the world. Continue reading →

So I Just Published a Book…

Posted in Writings about Writing by

Not much in the way of wit or writing tips this week. Just an announcement that I published my first book! 

I know, there was no fanfare or promotion leading up to it. I actually wanted to keep it low-key, because I did it partly just to figure out how the self-publishing process works on Amazon. You can read a hundred blog posts about it, but until you actually do it, it’s still theory. The uploading and book prep process through Amazon is relatively painless – except for the bit about their Kindle conversion program not liking tab indents in Word. Gotta figure out how to fix that for my next book.

But anyway, here it is – my first official publication, a self-published short story collection. Pop on over to Amazon, if you’d like, and give it a read!

5 Little-Known Facts about Beatrix Potter

Posted in Music, Movies, and other Muses by

Beatrix Potter – the creator of the classic childhood characters of Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Tom Kitten, and others – has long been one of my favorite authors. I grew up reading her whimsical tales of rabbits, cats, hedgehogs, and other charming creatures. Now, in adulthood, I’ve researched the woman behind the stories I’ve loved so much, and learned that Beatrix was so much more than just a writer and painter (although that’s nothing to be ashamed of!)

Beatrix Potter and the real Benjamin Bunny

So in celebration of Beatrix Potter’s 150th birthday (she was born July 28th, 1866), I’m sharing a few little facts that you may not have known about the famous children’s author:

Beatrix didn’t get married till she was 47. Miss Potter was pushing 50 before she became Mrs. Heelis – her first and only marriage. So if you’re over 35 and still single, don’t despair – there’s still time! Continue reading →

What to Blog about when You’re out of Ideas

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I’m sure this happens to every blogger sooner or later: your idea well dries up. It might be a long creativity dry spell, or maybe it’s just a temporary slump and you’re like “drat, I’m supposed to post tomorrow and I have nothing ready.”

Well, here are some handy tips to keep you going – or at least to help you fill in the gaps until your creativity springs gets going again. If you’re stuck for blog post ideas, you can:

Search the internet for “blog post ideas.” You’ll come across dozens of far more creative and influential bloggers than yours truly who have long lists of ideas, or fabulous tips for getting out of a slump. Continue reading →

Beginning at the End

Posted in Writings about Writing by

I may offend or confuse some of you pantsers out there, but I’m really becoming a firm believer in knowing the end of your story before you finish. Most any writer who outlines at all probably has at least a vague idea of how the story is going to end – otherwise, what’s the point of the outline?

If you’re a die-hard pantser (one who writes “by the seat of your pants” and never knows what the next scene of your story is going to be about), then keep doing what you’re doing if it’s working for you. And if you’re a hybrid plotter/pantser and it’s working for you, keep that up, too.

I’m not actually trying to change anyone’s mind or writing method in this post – or even give instructions, really. I’ve just made some observations recently about my own writing method, so I thought I’d share. Continue reading →