Mirka Muse

Fair question, that^. This is my four-hundred-and fortieth post. Despite the shrinking blogosphere, and the fact that (other than ma...

When my father lectured university age students, he told me that in his mind he would focus on one student as he talked. This made it poss...

If nothing else, (and there’s plenty else) a pandemic brings home the universality of experience. There will be time to reflect and asse...

I woke up today, tired of Corona and determined to embrace the daffiness that this time of year usually confers on me. So with few apologies...

I’ve been a sort-of fan of Jay Leno ever since I saw him live in a New York City comedy club way back when he was not famous or the “Jay ...

Hebrew: Yom Hasho’ah- יוֹם הַשׁוֹאָה Challenging times, such as we're enduring now,  befall humankind periodically. Unlike our curre...

Storytellers are in a good position to know that a day will come when things as they are today will feel different. We write most stories ...

Though the global response and economic shut-down feels unprecedented for any who haven’t lived through the great depression or the last w...

Maybe we need comic relief more than ever and maybe mischief is what passes for comedy to some. But this is my blog and so it's my ple...

Meaning, Work Harder Here's a bit of writerly contemplation to remind us that the world isn't ending. Whatever is ahead, good...

As the world enters a new stage of trying to cope with a pandemic, it obviously affects everyone in many ways. I am choosing to continue m...

How do you feel, as a reader, about stories in present tense? My last two drafted novels for Middle Grades are in first person prese...

I have a fear of unfinished projects. It could have started with a rather ambitious project that, in hindsight, turned into a traumat...

Do you have a favorite meal? Mine is, hands down, breakfast. Breakfast means, literally, break the fast. You’ve not eaten since mayb...

The dead of winter where I live, is the time the gates of heaven open and water comes down every few days to bring life and green the lan...

Valentine's Day around the corner, and the stores are saturated with the sweet smells of roses and chocolate. If you’re a chocoholic...

Allow me to indulge is some wee cat tales, and also tails. This links to writing in a roundabout way, I promise. All three of ou...

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...