My Paper Trail

                  By ROSEMARY LORD

D’you ever forget what you’ve ordered online? I ordered a ream pack of copy paper. I was surprised because about 2 hours later a ream of 500 sheets of white paper was delivered. “That was quick” I thought. Even for Amazon Overnight. Except it wasn’t.  I’d ordered that paper two days ago – and promptly forgot. Oh well, so now I had two reams of copy paper. A writer can never have enough paper, I told myself.

As a writer, there is nothing better than to hold a fat wad of copy paper in one’s hands and know that, like magic, it is suddenly going to be covered in your very own words.

But I think I’m becoming a bit of a “clutterholic” where stationary is concerned. It was when I thought I was running out of paper – then discovered that I wasn’t – that I realized it was high time to de-clutter my stationary stash. Where does one start? Hmmm.

With great enthusiasm, I began to pull items off the shelves onto the floor. The idea was that I could sort through it all and put back only that which I really needed.

There was a lot of it. Knee deep in assorted packets of Easy Address labels, a box of hanging files, another stuffed with manila folders, a slew of tabbed sheet protectors, ‘Avery Clean Edge Business Cards’, and so on. I had many brightly colored folders – with the plan to color code and use specific colors for certain subjects.  But I hadn’t got that far yet, so there they sat. I found five packets of photographic paper – never used.

A large stack of manuscript sized envelopes – no longer needed because we send manuscripts by email nowadays. But I had liked the satisfaction of putting my sacred, written pages in an envelope with a carefully worded cover letter, beautifully addressed and stamped and the satisfaction of taking it to the post office and sending it off with a silent prayer and crossed fingers. Most satisfying.  It is still not quite the same as eventually pushing ‘send.’ There’s no tactile interaction there. Sorry, manuscript-sized envelopes: out you go.

I filled a large box with dozens of superfluous folders, hanging files, the afore-mentioned envelopes, see-through plastic folders. And what was with the multicolored copy paper?    A ream of lime green, another of yellow. Aha! I had a plan! I remember thinking I would print my Lottie Topaz novel on lime-green paper, which would catch the eye of the editors who could not resist pulling my green-colored manuscript out from the ever-growing slush pile of submitted manuscripts.  Of course, this never worked. And I still had a lot of colored paper left over. Into the charity box it goes.

The eleven spiral notebooks I could comfortably justify. I start my writing projects scribbling in such a notebook and fill it with the outline, a plot line, then many pages of character developments, colorful backgrounds, relevant plot through-lines and dénouement thoughts.  But these were all empty. So, eleven times I bought the notebook and had not used them, so that they ended up on the shelf next to the others.  Although, in my defense, on another shelf I discovered a whole stack of well-filled such notebooks, from cover to cover crammed with handwritten ideas, characters, names to use. I did something right.  Except, why were they sitting on a shelf in the cupboard, instead of on my desk, ready to be used in my next book? But eleven abandoned, empty notebooks? Not good.

As a writer of historical books and novels, I do a great deal of research. I was smugly satisfied with the idea that I had organized my research and kept copious copies of articles on historic figures, historic buildings, historic happenings. Problem was that I had obviously found these subjects so interesting that I just had to print them out, save them and file them.  Now I was faced with two boxes of such printouts. On closer examination, many of them were duplicated. Besides, with today’s technology, I can find a lot of what I want on the internet. I saved only a few of these – in the bin with the rest of them. I said a quick “sorry” to all the trees who had given their lives to support my paper clutter addiction.

I found a whole stack of papers marked “for filing.” Glancing through them, they were clearly not interesting enough to have been filed, and I could not see why I kept them. So, they were gone, too.

And then I looked into the box-files, where I had stored many years of handwritten notes, hastily scribbled on old envelopes, paper scraps, on the reverse side of something else I’d written. What was I thinking?!  That investigation into my stationary cupboard was quite overwhelming and I knew I had to get a grip on it.

I have a new friend at the Woman’s Club who is the ultimate in techie-nerdiness. He persuaded me to get a scan-copy machine and showed me how much easier and quicker it is to scan things I need to keep, or interesting articles I want to read when I have time. Now I can access those papers, research articles, my copious writing notes and half-finished books wherever I am – on my laptop or even on my phone. And they only take up a quarter-of-an-inch-square on my desktop. Who knew? And, because I am still a bit leery of all this techno-wizardry, I still copy everything onto flash drives, just for safe measure.

I hate to admit it, but my endless trail of paper collecting has forced me into the scary world of technology, if only to save the trees.   But I still cannot resist a lovely clean notebook or legal pad, with pencil poised, so I can unleash my imagination and create a whole new world for myself and my readers. And this is where the paper trail continues.

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!

by Miko Johnston

After spending the better part of a quarter-century writing about how the world has changed, I can’t help but envision similar scenarios in the future. Imagine if humans had to start all over again. What would you preserve?

For me, books would top the list. Books would teach the necessary lessons of how to do everything, how to live, and how to learn. Books provide food for thought, whether on who we are, why we’re here, or what we can do. We read books for entertainment, stories that tell tales both familiar and foreign. Books remind us of places we’ve been to and transport us to places we’ve never been. Books can ensure our salvation.

I know which books give me pleasure, but if I had to create a repository for a new world, I’d have to consider more than which books I enjoy. For starters, I’d have to think of how to organize my selections – do I catalog them, like the Dewey Decimal System, or go with something more instinctive, like by subject headings as you’d find them in a bookstore?

Once I picked my system, I’d select books based on what future generations would need, at every reading age and level. Baby board books. Early learning books and age-appropriate stories for the young. Textbooks on critical subjects: math, the sciences, history, the social sciences, language, and literature. Medicine. Mechanics and engineering. Religion and philosophy. Law and criminology. Biographies, memoirs, and essays. Sheet music, plays, and poetry. Books that have influenced us since their publication. Learning who we’ve been, what we’ve accomplished, and I suppose in this scenario, where we may have failed, ought to guide us into the future.

Next, I’d focus on DIY/how-to manuals, everything to support the necessities of life: food, clothing, and shelter, safety, and health – physical and mental. Knowing how to raise, grow, cook, and preserve food. Weave cloth, sew, and knit. Build a house or a table and keep it functioning as well as clean, fix a leaky faucet, or rewire a lamp. How to play a musical instrument, write a play, or a story. How to interact with people. I’d do everything I could to preserve our acquired knowledge, with the same urgency as preserving humanity.

Last but certainly not least, I’d add a section of fiction, with a variety of eras, genres, and styles. Classic literature mixed with modern fiction. Books about the human condition, at least as it existed in the past. About growing up and becoming an adult. About growing old and facing mortality. About doing good and being bad. Books about human emotions. Adventures to thrill, mysteries to ponder, suspense and horror to send chills down the spine. The hybrids – science fiction, historical fiction, and creative memoir.

I don’t know if the new world will be brave, cowardly, or complacent, but as long as people are living and can read, there ought to be books.

Am I being alarmist with this scenario?

Years ago, I visited the Benaki Museum in Athens, essentially a repository of Greek culture. As I went through the chronological display of objects dating back to prehistoric times, I noticed with each passing century a gradual sophistication and technical advancement in the articles on display, including some that would be at home in modern times. Then suddenly, the objects turned primitive again. No explanation was given, but I assumed some catastrophic event, either natural or man-made, caused the change. Over the thousands of years covered in the exhibit, it happened twice.

***

If you had to create a library for the future, what books would you include?

 

Miko Johnston, a founding member of The Writers in Residence, is the author of the historical fiction series, “A Petal in the Wind”, as well as a contributor to several anthologies. Miko lives in Washington (the big one) with her rocket scientist husband. Contact her at mikojohnstonauthor@gmail.com

 

GROUP QUESTION: What is your favorite season to set a story in, and why?

 

Jackie Houchin — I like setting stories in the Fall. There are all those warm colors, of course, like red, gold, rust, brown, and even olive. I can (at least in Southern California) have my characters wear any style of clothes, from shorts, a tee-shirt, and sandals to jeans, boots, a jacket, and a hat. Hot Santa Ana winds blow. Nights come sooner. Dried leaves crunch and reveal secrets, but also hide things. Bare branches look spooky. And there is an urgency to action (before the frost comes). Also, Autumn characters can be older, wiser (or more foolish), and willing to make one last effort.

I wrote a short story titled Autumn Gold set in Central Park & San Francisco, in the Fall. It won 4th and was published in an online magazine. Autumn Gold

 

Rosemary Lord — I grew up with the cold and wet of England’s summers, longing for just a few days of no rain and some sun. So I am happiest writing about sunny summers, endless days of sun, and light evenings. I guess I just feel better writing about warm or hot places! I shut down when it’s too cold.

In Lottie Topaz and the Flicker Murders, I have also used the extreme heat of Hollywood in the 1920s, and I loved creating that atmosphere. 
 
During the cold weather of most of my English childhood, I would hibernate, so that does not feel at all creative.  My dad was in the Royal Navy, so we lived on the Mediterranean island of Malta for a while when I was tiny. It was blissfully sunny and hot. We had grapes growing in the garden, and spent days on the beach. Moving to Hollywood, California, I found a similar climate. So I stayed! 
 
 
 
Gayle Bartos-Pool — A Little Seasoning to Your Story
As writers, we can add characters, dialogue, and settings to the plot, but how about a particular season? Maybe you have a favorite one.
 
Having lived in California for decades, I got used to no seasons at all, but here in Ohio, boy, do we have four distinctive times of the year. And they can be a great background or even part of the plot. A snowstorm in winter or a beautiful autumn when leaves really do change color, or a spring when buds start to pop after one of those long winters, can be just what the characters need to tell their story.
 
I never thought about writing an entire book in a particular season, but I have used a rainy day or snow as a background in a short story. At least that’s a start.
 
 
 
Miko Johnston — I don’t have a favorite season to write about. Instead, I incorporate aspects of the seasons into my writing for atmosphere (no pun intended) – the frigid winds of winter, the springtime beauty of cherry trees in bloom, summer heat shimmering over the pavement, a bird of prey’s last hunt before migrating in autumn. Each change of season creates a natural transition in time.
 
I also use the seasons as a metaphor. By pairing or contrasting them to the emotional upheavals my characters must endure, I can enliven the story with vivid imagery or negative space (see this post).
 
 
Maggie King — My stories are set in all seasons, my favorite being autumn. I love walking under trees ablaze with the reds, golds, and oranges of the season, hearing the sound of leaves crunching under my feet, pulling my jacket tightly against the chill in the air as temperatures drop. The earthy smell of decomposing leaves and burning wood from fireplaces evoke memories from childhood—sipping apple cider, coming home to the heavenly aroma of my mother’s beef stew, celebrating Halloween and Thanksgiving. 


My novels Death Turns the Page and Laughing Can Kill You are set in autumn, as is a short story I’m currently writing.

 
 
 
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Three Simple Words

 

by Jill Amadio

Three simple words. Three common sentences.

I love you!

I hate you!

Leave me alone!

A world of emotion is expressed in each of the above and spoken or written countless times a day. Writers add drama, suspense, surprise, and expected reaction with similarly timeless ways to characterize fictional and non-fictional inhabitants of our books. The phrases are translated into practically every language under the sun – even, perhaps, Mars – because they provide us with a succinct, precise, and in some cases ruthless attention-getting way to pinpoint the exact feelings we wish to evoke in the reader or listener.

Even inanimate objects can be subject to the love or scorn of the writer. On rare occasions, I have shut down my laptop in disgust when I have failed to figure out how a sub-plot could end.

Yet, there they rest, those three-word declarations, ready to serve you. Needs if we can only make a decision or two.

In one of my favorite and frequently consulted books, the International Thesaurus, there are more than 30 categories of love, including many forms to express it, such as infatuation, and how to describe a character who is a philanderer.

As for the opposite emotion, hate, the Thesaurus offers a plethora of nasty versions from which to choose.

It is not unusual to read the first like of a book using a love or hate expression. It can lead to further reading as one wants to know who is talking, and to whom, and the reason for the love/hate word.

It is tempting to write the beginning of Chapter 1 as: “I hate you!” Bang!

This could end the book there and then if the protagonist is shot by the antagonist. There is no puzzle to solve, no cliffhangers to ponder, no flashbacks to urge one on.

Yet, do the simple sentences, “I love you,” “I hate you,” seem too pat, too worn-out?

Can’t we be more creative? Certainly, shooting someone dead is one way of expressing dislike of that person, and locking up one’s beloved in a room or elsewhere can be construed as going a bit overboard, but in fiction, all solutions are possible, if not creative.

Dullness is the death of a mystery. It can cause irritation and frustration, and the reader claiming they can write a far more interesting book than the author. Can this be true?

Agatha Christie writes in her autobiography, which incidentally reads more like a travel guide than a writer’s life, that she began concocting and writing her first mystery as a dare. Happily, she had connections to gents and a publisher and went on to write several dozen more. In her memoir, she tends to flip off her success and says she preferred to go with her archaeologist husband to digs in Syria, where they had a second or third home.

I often wonder if writers in other parts of the world have more descriptive nouns and verbs than English-speaking countries. Perhaps their foreign forms of thriller are more gripping, compelling, or surprising. I have to admit, some of these translations sometimes lack commonsense answers to all the questions aroused in their book, in my opinion, although there are plenty here, too. .

However, it is fascinating to read the translations and, if need be, try to figure out the plot. Occasionally, the rhythm and flow of the writing is unexpected, a good way to grab one’s faltering attention or its opposite. Resonance can also be a neglected area, yet our three simple short sentences fit the bill in those cases perfectly. Some writers struggle to express love/hate declarations differently, and often succeed, but why mess with those three wonderfully descriptive words needlessly?

Yes, we are free, thank goodness, to write as we wish without, I hope, government interference or discipline. All writers need is their own sense of compelling writing that offends few book buyers, to say nothing of agents, publishers, and marketers.

The most magnificent, powerful three words?

“We the people…”

 

Holding your breath!

by Jackie Houchin

 

I’m sorry this is late.

I forgot.

I had medical tests on my mind.

I had to get an MRI early Wednesday morning, and it was the only thing on my mind.

Not a fun experience.

But neither was the breast cancer surgery I had two years ago. This was merely a deep scan of my left side to see if….

I held my breath.

Things are different on that side of me now with scars and after radiation, so it’s hard to tell what’s okay and normal.

So I held my breath.

A message from Hoag Hospital…

“Benign.  No malignancy. Congratulations.”

Whew.  I let out a long breath.

Thank You, God!

I can breathe again.

.

Thanks for your patience.

Why I Love Book Events

By Maggie King

I love in-person book events. I love connecting with readers. I love signing my books and adding names to my mailing list. I love the benefits: new readers, learning of future book-related opportunities, networking with other authors (and we’re readers as well.)

“Hawking” my books at the Powhatan Library Authors Roundup

I learn much from the people I meet at these events. An author shared her enthusiasm for an AI tool she used to successfully create sales copy. A reader recommended Le Ventre de Paris by Emile Zola for its vivid descriptive passages of the tastes and smells of a central market in 19th century Paris. The book made it to my TBR list and I hope to get to it this year. I like hearing what readers like to read, and what they don’t.

Even if I don’t sell a lot of books on a given day, I still might make valuable connections. And word of mouth is definitely at work: one person tells someone about me and my books, that someone tells yet another someone, and so on.

Many festivals include author talks and panel discussions (perhaps a topic for another post), readings (can be tiresome for the audience), and, of course, book signings.

Attending an in-person author event lets me meet writers and readers I’ve only met online. I no longer travel, so my options for events are limited to ones that are local or a short drive from my home. Fortunately, bookish gatherings abound in Virginia, home to many authors. In 2025, I participated in five book events. I have four scheduled for this year and expect to add a few. My favorites are the Chesterfield County Local Author Book Fair, the Hanover Book Festival, and the Powhatan Library Authors Roundup.

Tell us about your experiences with book events, whether as an author or reader.

Part 2 – Always Ask Yourself

by Gayle Bartos-Pool

In the class I teach on writing, I point out three things in the form of a question that can help you write a good story:

                                Does it advance the story?

                                Does it enhance the story?

                                Is it redundant?

We did the first point in my last post. This is the second point.

Enhancements are the little descriptions you add that make the story feel real. Things like describing the setting. In a movie, the director and set/scenic designer will place the action in the perfect setting whether it’s in the ramshackle house or majestic castle, or maybe a coastline with the waves crashing against the rugged rocks. The camera can go anywhere.

In a play, the set designer and director can add just enough props and background scenery to literally “set the stage” for the scene to be acted out for the audience. They might be limited to the size and budget of the theater, but a suitable set will enhance the action while the actors “trod the boards.”

But on the printed page, the writer has to “paint” that picture and decorate that set with words. It doesn’t have to be so much description that the reader loses track of the story being told. “Less is more” is really something to consider. But do give the reader a taste of the place where the action is taking place. After all, a reader usually has a pretty good imagination or else they wouldn’t be reading a book. They’d wait for the movie if they want the visuals to be handed to them on a platter without using their own imagination.

I’m being sarcastic here, but people aren’t reading as much anymore. They are letting somebody else create the scene in the movie, sometimes with AI or cartoon animations, and literally leave nothing to the viewer’s imagination. That might be okay in the movie, but not in a book.

A good writer will provide “a visual with words.” Wonderful words that let readers use their own minds to finish that painting. It lets the reader become part of the journey.

As for the words to use, the writer will see the visual in their own mind and put it down on paper. Golden sunsets, ice forests, a pristine palace, a squalid dump. A character dressed in rags, or a gossamer gown. Words describe the scene and the characters.

It doesn’t take a lot of words, but sometimes a few more will set the stage even better… She strolled into the glittering ballroom lit by a dozen crystal chandeliers with the attitude of a prizefighter. Instead of a gossamer gown and expensive jewels around her neck and wrists like those worn by the other ladies whose individual bank accounts would choke any horse, this gal had on blue jeans, a torn flannel shirt and a pair of boots covered with muck she must have picked up from some of those fancy horses…

That sets the stage for the action to come. Not a lot of words, just a paragraph, but the reader gets the idea that all hell is probably gonna break loose. Isn’t that the job of the writer? Set the stage for the reader and let them enjoy the scene as it unfolds…adjective by adjective.

The opening of your story should do the most to bring the reader in. “It was a dark and stormy night…” was famous for grabbing readers’ attention. If you’re writing a mystery, stumbling over “another” dead body on the first page just might interest the reader. Then “What If” this wasn’t the first one the protagonist had seen in her life… Everybody loves another “here we go again” whodunnit. The reader keeps turning the pages until the killer is nailed.  

Even if you don’t start with “a corpse in the hot tub,” at least begin with something that makes the reader want to keep reading. That’s the job of the writer. Setting the stage on the page and making that journey both visual and real is how the writer gets the reader to enjoy the trip.

So, enhance those bits and pieces that help tell your story. Write On!

Stop and Go

By Linda O. Johnston

No, I’m not talking about traffic. I’m talking about writing. And I think all writers experience stop-and-go in their writing at various times. Maybe all the time.

The “go” is the best part. We figure out what we’re writing about, plan it, plot it, and do it. Go for it. With me, that’s most of my writing life. I’m always writing something, or planning in my mind what’s coming next. Telling the computer what’s on my mind, via my typing fingers, always helps too.

But then there’s the “stop.” That’s when you at least slow down, have other things in your life that get in the way, maybe (shudder!) even have some writing issues that slow you, then maybe let you grind to a halt—hopefully only for a short while. But the interruption can definitely matter.

I’ve recently been having more slowdowns and stops than I’m happy with. Breaking my arm, which slowed my ability to type, is certainly among them. So is receiving extensive edits and questions about a manuscript I recently submitted. That’s what I primarily need to focus on now. Is it stopping the rest of my writing? No, but it’s not allowing it to go as fast as I’d like. But I do concentrate on figuring it out so I can get back to what I was already working on, and more.

How about you other writers? Do you always get to focus on what you want to write, move forward, and enjoy it? Or have you also had some issues that slow you down, maybe stop you for a while?

But the great thing about being a writer is that we’ll deal with it and go forward with our writing. Right? Write!

MY DREAM JOB:

by Rosemary Lord

I always wanted to be a writer. I just didn’t know it. Or admit it.

As a child I read voraciously. And I re-read the same books over and over again.               ‘Heidi’ by Johanna Spyri was my favorite. I wanted to live on that mountainside with ‘Alm Uncle,’ her grandfather, and wander on that mountain grass with Peter the goatherd.

“A Girl of the Limberlost” was another favorite, by Gene Stratton Porter. Published in 1915 and set in America, it was described as: “A young girl’s quest for knowledge and self-worth.”  It tells of a poor girl, Elnora, desperately wanting to attend school, she collects moths to pay for her education! (Now you’ll have to read it to find out what happens!)  As a child, I got lost in that far away world deep in the heart of America.

I was always reading. So were my siblings.  Our parents loved books, encouraging us to read from a very young age.

And I always wrote. About a little girl escaping hum-drum everyday life as she escaped through the window into a magical world.  I wrote fairy-stories, the mystery of a missing cake and about a Magic Armchair! I was always too embarrassed to show anyone my scribblings, as I thought they were silly and not ‘proper writing.’ Writing was my secret world that I did not want criticized or invaded.

Our Mum was a ‘proper’ writer and got paid for it – albeit modest amounts. But she was a professional writer and member of the NUJ: The National Union of Journalists.  We were loath to disturb her as she tapped away on her typewriter – just like Jessica Fletcher in “Murder She Wrote.”   

I didn’t feel that I could ever aspire to Mum’s level of ‘proper’ writing. As a young girl I kept my dreams of writing to myself. I never felt my writing would be good enough. Ever. I stuffed down those ambitions.

But what else could I do when I grew up?

I watched the old black-and-white Hollywood movies on TV: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Humphrey Bogart, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Rosalind Russell.   I realized then that I wanted to live in Hollywood and somehow work in movies with Greer Garson and Ginger Rogers. That was my dream since I was about 8.

I got laughed at and ridiculed at school when, in class, the teenage me finally confessed my dream of a life in Hollywood. I was a skinny, asthmatic kid. “Oh yes,” they laughed hysterically, “Rosemary thinks she’s going to live in Hollywood, meet movie stars and work in the movies with them!”

But I got the last laugh. I accomplished all of that and more.

I’ve lived and worked in Hollywood most of my adult life – longer than I lived in England. I’ve met, got to know and worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood’s celestial realm. From Cary Crant to Betty Davis, Jimmy Stewart, Deborah Kerr, John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock and, yes, Greer Garson. I’ve attended the Oscars more than once, the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the Cannes Film Festival, many film premieres and theatrical First Nights.

I have travelled across America, earning my living as an actress and a journalist for many years. I’ve had dozens of different ‘temp’ jobs in between – mostly when I lived in London and was trying to figure out how to get to Hollywood!

But I always wrote. I wrote daily in my journals. I started, but seldom finished, several novels. I earned a living when I wrote pieces on Old Hollywood and interviewed the actors, directors, producers for women’s magazines and newspapers. They were gracious and friendly – and introduced me to their fellow stars to interview, because they trusted me to write fairly and honestly. 

It wasn’t until years later, after I had written two best-selling books on Hollywood and Los Angeles history, that I realized how much I loved writing. I remembered that that was what I had always, secretly, wanted to do. No longer living in my writer mum’s shadow. No longer thinking I wanted to be an actress. I just love writing!

I am a happy member of this writers’ blog and relish creating some magic when my turn comes around. I still write daily in my journal about my hopes, dreams, disappointments and realizations. I’m currently writing the new version of Los Angeles Then and Now for Harper Collins. They bought the ‘Then and Now’ titles and seem excited to work with me on this and other ideas.

And so, I am a very happy writer. And now I finally recognize what I want to be when I grow up:  A writer! A professional writer! And I am!

What about you? Did you always aspire to be a writer?

………………………

CHALLENGING WORDS

By Miko Johnston

I’m doing something I’ve never done before; in fact, something I’ve avoided throughout my writing career. I’m going to suggest a writing challenge.

Beginning on March first, I challenge all our readers to commit to writing one paragraph a day, in any manner, on any subject. One paragraph. It could be in a journal,  a story idea file, or an existing manuscript. One paragraph consisting of at least two sentences of exposition, dialogue, or a combination.

Sorry, shopping or to-do lists don’t count. It has to be fiction, journaling, or memoir.

One paragraph seems manageable, no matter how busy, stressed, or depleted you feel. In fact, it might help if you’re feeling any of those feelings. One paragraph can be added to a story or novel you’ve begun, or it can begin a letter to a friend or loved one, someone you’ve lost touch with. It can express gratitude to someone who’s been especially kind or helpful to you. It can record your present state of mind. Or it can be a reminiscence of a person or event from your life.

You can write your paragraph first thing in the morning, or during the day, or right before you go to bed. I suppose the timing would depend on what you want to write. Use a pen or a computer, whichever suits your style. And if it spurs you to continue writing, so much the better. If not, that’s okay, as long as you get a paragraph’s worth of words on the page or screen.

One paragraph. Can you commit to that?

…

Miko Johnston, a founding member of The Writers in Residence, is the author of the historical fiction series, “A Petal in the Wind”, as well as a contributor to several anthologies, including the best-selling “Whidbey Island: An Insider’s Guide”. Miko lives in Washington (the big one) with her rocket scientist husband. Contact her at mikojohnstonauthor@gmail.com