A nice tip from an old Bottom Line Personal: Finance writer Dyan Machan brings together success secrets from a bunch of notable successful people. "Diane von Furstenberg, founder of a hugely successful clothing company (DVF), reminds herself that her mother survived a Nazi concentration camp.  Compared with that, what is there to […] Read More

Have you made a resolution?   I'm working on this, not quite finished.  For me, a good resolution needs  two parts: the big goal and the action item. A few years ago,  Part One was: follow the will of God. Part Two was: find out what that is by meditating 20 minutes a day without fail. That year […] Read More

When I was a senior at Duke, I took a wonderful writing course from Helen Bevington. On the first day of class, she told us on she was open to reading anything but Christmas poems. Being of a somewhat oppositional nature, I took it as a challenge to write a Christmas poem that would interest […] Read More

/Solstice celebration was today at lunch for four “weird women” in Raleigh’s Pullen Park. We stood in a big round gazebo around a little potted tree and held what amounted to a nature-lover’s mini-peer-group therapy session.   I left feeling shook loose and inspired. One of the highlights was the reading of a bold poem, […] Read More

On a screwy day (of the sort when I keep making dumb little mistakes), I’ve never been sure of the best strategy: plunge ahead or freeze. Yesterday was a bit like that (though not the worst.) I went to a two hour Christmas get-together, the sort of thing where you get there on time. I […] Read More

The change: last night I made a vat of fudge. Ordinarily I don't cook. And this is not an overstatement. If I ever made fudge before, it was more than forty years ago and utilized a mix and an onsite advisor. But the hint of a whim to do this touched me a few days […] Read More

Every time I take a slight break from blogging, I find that the first time back takes more energy. And I’m slightly hesitant. There’s no good reason for this other than the power of inertia. A moving object once stopped needs a wee boost to get going again. Providing one’s-self this boost is a mini-version […] Read More

  On short pieces:   One-time flat fee of $95 for a critique of up to 40  pages for manuscripts received by January 1.   Fiction or nonfiction; excerpt, book proposal, short fiction, or article.    You'll receive a report on structure, use of language, pacing, any needs for tightening, missing pieces, suspense and "engaging-ness." I write a summary of […] Read More

The office upstairs from mine opened up yesterday. (Sad to say, Greenpeace is moving.)   But the change opens a space in this charming, historic 1910 “office house” at the downtown edge of Raleigh’s Oakwood, a few blocks from the Capitol.   The building, called Free Range Studio, currently contains four writers, one small art […] Read More

When I moved my site last week to this new location, I was sad to lose my 52 formally committed “Followers.” I think Frequent Visitors would be a better term. Or Cybermates. Or Bold Blog Readers. (Perhaps you have some ideas?) Whatever it’s called, I hope you’ll sign up again — by clicking on either […] Read More