Mirka Muse

This morning I had this conversation with a four-year-old who lives next door.             4YO: “What are you doing?” Me: “Cleanin...

Every writer knows how important a strong, engaging, punch ‘em in the gut opening is to selling a story. It’s the antithesis to the wa...

Ever wake up, note the date, and think there is something about this date that is meaningful, something you should remember, do, or regis...

When I read that a writer revised a novel sixty-four or a hundred-and-eleven times, I am not awed. I'm baffled. Tackling a revision ...

The number twenty-twenty is bound to bring a lot of writerly merriment. You know, twenty-twenty vision/hindsight to us all, and all that. ...

~To all everywhere who celebrate~  I wish you a warm and   merry Christmas

...A reminder to recharge the batteries Some months ago, I read this article about writerly/creative doldrums. I wasn’t in the dept...

In an ever-changing world, living half a world away from where I grew up, I found myself thinking about one particular restaurant my paren...

Yup, another ISM for you When I was twelve years old, I had a friend who naturally waxes philosophical. Her utterances made her the p...

Here's a happy prescription to get in the holiday mood. First, steam some lactose-free milk. Second, use a whipping foamer and make ...

No, not that Clara Schumann This one We took her out of a kill shelter only hours before she was scheduled to be euthaniz...

Most writers I have known, or read interviews with, would rather keep their private lives private. Publishing, i.e. making public, is for ...

If you’ve read this blog before, you know how I rail against the standard/daylight savings time change. You must be saying “’nuff already,...

In early July, a post made the rounds in writers groups online and caused some consternation. You can read the original post here . ...

Some weeks ago, at a meeting of writers, I overheard an experienced published writer (I’ll call her Ms. Author) explain the journey to a y...

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With silver bells, and  cockle  shells, And pretty maids all in a row. Olde E...

The other day I ran into Rona.* *(name changed) Rona was a girl I knew in one of my children’s classes. Rona has changed a lot. Rona i...

I have periods of high creativity and low creativity. But writer’s block isn’t invited to any of my days. I refuse to have writer’...

I know how to choose a good avocado at the supermarket, or a melon at the farmer’s market. But blimey if I know how best to market a boo...

Steven Spielberg said he makes the movies he’d like to see. It’s that simple. So it is for me. I write the stories I’d like to read....

Okay, I’ll put it right here. My heroes are the get-along people. Outside of literary fiction, you won’t find them much in stories. ...

“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” –Zen in the Art of Writing ©Ray Bradbury Why do I love this line s...

Despite the season, this is not about baseball. Pitching is also what writers do. Writers pitch to agents and agents then pitch to...

From the time my kids were little, summer was the time to recharge. A scheduled ebb to the flow of new creativity. The end of August was t...

Some months ago, a neighbor posted on the neighborhood board (called NextDoor ) that a mother deer had two fawns in her back yard. But onl...

I have a constitutional aversion to literalness. In my teens, I discovered  the awesome power and wisdom of scriptures. I could only d...

{🙀 The "you" in this post is mostly me waving a finger at myself 😼} {😽 You, the reader, are just fine 😻} As one w...

Ever have a day where nothing goes right? If you can relate to Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Vio...