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I notice him almost immediately. My partner is about to climb into the driver’s side of the ambulance when I tell him that I’ll be right back. He follows my gaze across the street and nods in recognition. I hand him my unadulterated coffee. It’s not the fact that he’s in a school playground, or the way he observes the tree. It’s the rope in his hand. It’s been three months since his face was plastered everywhere. Drunk Driver Kills Nephew In Car Accident. He turns a

“Are you kidding me? You put me in with a One??” I stare at the black canvas tent in the second cell as the cop behind me closes the door to the holding cell room. “Can you put me somewhere else,” I spit out loudly. “New protocol,” is all he says as he guides me to my home for the weekend. “Besides, you’re my last booking. It’s already after five, and I’ve got an hour commute.” He scans his card and opens the cell door. I consider his color as I move past him. “You a

Robert Frost authored one of my favorite poems, a poem I love to share with my students about the road less traveled. Even though as first graders, they didn't understand every bit of it, or maybe even a lot of it, they knew it was beautiful and lovely because of how much I loved it and by the way I would tear up at the last line. Because I had been on the road well-traveled for the first 23 years of my life. And that road would have led to absolute destruction. I have no dou

A genre. A setting. A character. One week. Twenty-five hundred words. FIGHT! I stumbled onto this Writing Battle group ( www.writingbattle.com ) that uses this lovely quasi-Ancient/Medieval style set up that engages writers in impromptu "battles" to compete for a monetary prize and, of course, glory. You choose your class, which is the general genre in which you want to compete. They have quirky names, like Barbarian if you write dystopian/post-apocalyptic stories or Artifice

Keep writing. Lots to learn! This was a comment at the end of an email from the mentor I had gained through a literary intensive seminar. At first, the perfectionist in me (and my ego) took it as a blow. What does she mean "lots to learn?" Does my writing stink? Am I terrible at this? Should I even bother? As a writer, a teacher, and a mom, Imposter Syndrome hits me on multiple levels. Thankfully, this time, the still and quiet voice that never leads me astray told me not