Category Archives: My posts

Deconstructing a home

Posted on March 31, 2014 by ginachoward

Thoughts on a man slowly taking apart a house and the family that once lived there: The unkempt man hired to disassemble the house was in no hurry. He had no obligations and dropped by only when he needed the … Continue reading →

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Focus on the important stuff

Posted on March 24, 2014 by ginachoward

Self-employment is proving to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated, and I don’t mean in terms of contracted work. Rather, with both physical and temporal boundaries between home and work smudged, I’ve been thinking of time as … Continue reading →

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What a character

Posted on March 17, 2014 by ginachoward

I had a crush on Sherlock Holmes. Not the TV or movie actors with their pale interpretations of the great detective, but the man Arthur Conan Doyle revealed in the red linen-bound 1927 volume of The Complete Sherlock Holmes I … Continue reading →

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Step-by-step

Posted on March 10, 2014 by ginachoward

“One, two. One, two. That’s it!” The baby wobbles on legs unaccustomed to being vertical. Anticipation overcomes fear, as she wills first one leg, then the other to propel her. Her delight in the jerky, uncontrolled forward momentum is unabated … Continue reading →

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Superpower

Posted on March 3, 2014 by ginachoward

I have a superpower, and today I’m going to share its secret with about 30 eighth graders. However, I won’t tell them how to get it right off the bat. No. The Read Across America organizers at Whitewater Middle School … Continue reading →

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Watering our words

Posted on February 24, 2014 by ginachoward

No matter the weather, Crazy Cathy is in her yard watering her weeds. That’s not her real name of course, my round-the-corner neighbor. But she’s always out there in a hooded raincoat, knitted ski cap or floppy sunhat, holding that … Continue reading →

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The message

Posted on February 17, 2014 by ginachoward

Whether selling toothpaste or terrorism, getting the word out is all important. In her book What Terrorists Want, Louise Richardson says that the purpose of terrorists’ acts is not to defeat the enemy, but to send a message. The victims … Continue reading →

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Two is one

Posted on February 10, 2014 by ginachoward

Gary was right. I need to swap my chapters. As I’ve gotten further into what was to have been my second chapter, I realize that it sets up the action and engages the readers from the start. They learn of … Continue reading →

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Chapter two (or one)

Posted on February 4, 2014 by ginachoward

Or maybe it will be Chapter One. I sent the first chapter of An American Terrorist to a fellow writer for some feedback. One of my faults (or virtues, depending on the perspective) is that I re-write ad nauseam, knowing … Continue reading →

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One is done

Posted on January 28, 2014 by ginachoward

I finally finished the first chapter, after surmounting one little glitch. Some of you might remember the bad-old days of computers. The days when crashes were frequent, and hours of work were lost forever. As rare as those occurrences are today, they … Continue reading →

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