Storytelling. Fact and fiction. One word at a time.
Dave and I meet every morning at 7:30. Our meetings last anywhere from five minutes to 30 minutes. Sometimes we build our story. Sometimes we talk business. Sometimes we simply check in. "You there? Yep. Meeting? Nope. Catch you tomorrow? Bye!" This is a different schedule than we've ever had. And, although I am not... Continue Reading →
I am usually loaded with words---too many sometimes, if you ask Dave, my writing partner. You'd think that would be a blessing if you're a writer. Well, I have learned that it's more about finding the right words rather than having just a massive pile of them. One afternoon in the senior art class at... Continue Reading →
What to cut and what to keep? It's a question I've asked myself time and time again. I came across an old blog post about the process of editing. During our humble beginnings, we had finish the last words of Along Comes a Wolfe, our first novel in the Shepherd and Wolfe series. It was... Continue Reading →
I found a photo on the internet of a beautiful woman on the floor strategically placed at a laptop, her legs opened, lap top between her knees, a glass of wine to her left and loose papers strewn about. The shot was from above so there was ample cleavage for the viewer. Because I don't... Continue Reading →
At the start of every English class we quietly read. Every single day. It's the ritual of the class. For students it's the few minutes of transition from a noisy hallway to a focused Language Arts class. It's the shift in gears from perhaps math, or social studies or physical education. For me it's also... Continue Reading →
Teaching has its ups and downs and sometimes the bounce between presenting, demonstrating, teaching and evaluating is intense. Yesterday was a long day and a good portion of it was spent in front of the computer. It was a giddy-up kind of day. Dave and I typically meet on Wednesdays but I was just too... Continue Reading →
I do this thing when I read. I take a pen, usually a colored one, and draw a loopy circle around a section that I love or that I want to find later. It stands out and it's easy to find. I do this because of Mrs. Hynd, who taught me in 1981. "Circle all... Continue Reading →
Mr. Robertson, my high school art teacher would give me between a 70 to 80 on my assignments---always. Occasionally I’d get a 68 (ouch) and sometimes I’d get an 85 (yay) but generally I sat squarely in those mid-marks. Those were my best grades in high school, Art and English (and occasionally Social Studies). Every... Continue Reading →
I hate to sound like a cliché but I served tables while in art school. Between customers I would work on my art history class at the staff table. I would leave my notebook open while I worked. The regulars, who were on a first name basis, would sometimes sit at the staff table. If... Continue Reading →
When I was in Grade One, our teacher, Mrs. Lawrence, would put a piece of paper that was super big (probably only 11x17 but it felt gigantic) on each desk and then she would go around the class with a permanent marker and make a line or a squiggle on everyone's page. From that single... Continue Reading →
Angie Counios 