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Summer of Reading

Sarah — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 17:16:44 +0000

Most of those who visit this site love to read and write, and although for many, this time of year is hectic, I want to hear what you’re working on and reading. Give us a quick summery of your writing and the name and author of the books you love best that you’ve read so far this summer.

Happy reading and writing.

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Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/

Time gone by

Brenna — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:56:52 +0000

Change, it happens to all of us, it is unstoppable. In the past year I have had my fourth child, promoted to EMT- Intermediate, gone back to school for my nursing degree, and had two foster daughters come and live with us. One has gone off to college, the other has just moved in.
All the changes in my life have kept me so busy that I realized I haven’t even worked on my stories for a year. I haven’t even logged in on this site for a year. I have been so involved with my life I couldn’t let any creative flows through. It is time for me to take back one thing that I love and make room for it with all the other things that I love. I am finally getting a full nights sleep and I am not bogged down with loads, on loads of homework! So here is to my summer of independence in writing!
Now, how do I get back into it? I am lost as were to begin. Any help or suggestions would be fantastic

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Our first Guy with a pen

Sarah — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:48:29 +0000

We have been joined by a brave soul. Our first Guy With a Pen, Leon Basin has agreed to brave the females and write with us. So everyone help us welcome this courageous man to If You Give a Girl a Pen.

This is Leonid (Leon) Basin, he currently lives in San Jose, California, but was born in Kharkov, Ukraine. He came to the United States when he was nine years old. He is also a spiritual fiction writer of 11 years. He writes poetry and short stories as well as novels.

Visit him at

http://www.leonbasin.net/

WELCOME LEON!

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The Words I Do Not Have!

TameshaH — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:00:38 +0000

For an extended period of time, I have been influenced by Audre Lorde and her essays. Unsure if it is because of all the new writing deadlines that are emerging compiled with balancing “real world” demands but she has been circling my thought process. Will she ever land and assist me in sorting out all these thoughts? Its as though I have writers block with a tea kettle full of thoughts and nothing is taking true form. What a conundrum! As writers, is the ability to write/express be a luxury with the words and sounds we do not have yet?

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happy new year!

Sarah — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:18:58 +0000

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A Fond Farwell

Sarah — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:50:25 +0000

One of the girls is retiring. We are sad to lose Michelle, but due to personal reasons, she is having to leave us. We hope that she will come visit us and guest blog when she can. We wish her the best in her endeavors and send her our love.

All the best, Michelle,

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Something to be Thankful for

Sarah — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:00:36 +0000

picture found at: bookreviewsbybobbie.wordpress.com

We girls with a pen would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Please share with us what you are Thankful for.

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Mothers and Writing

KC Klein — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:21:46 +0000

Mothers and Writing
I’m sitting at my computer intently creating a beautiful work of art. The right word is at my fingertips, so close, and then…my phone rings. The caller ID says “mom.” I contemplate ignoring because I already know how this conversation will go.
“So what are you doing?” asks my mother.
I quickly ran down the list of readymade activities that are considered more acceptable to my mother then writing. She can’t believe that grown woman with a family, and outside job, has time to waste on a mere hobby?
“Um…laundry,” I say, because laundry is never really done.
This usually works and our conversation continues, but a reasonable person might ask, why would a grown adult need to lie about spending time writing? Well, simply put, I don’t want to hear her response that would evoke feelings of guilt and resentment.
Our mothers can be our greatest supporters, and our harshest critics. I take comfort that I am not the only one with ‘mother’ issues. I know of authors who’ve had last minute ‘stage fright’ before their books hit the shelves and have contemplated removing or ‘toning down’ their sex scenes because of concerns with their family’s reaction.
I use to balk at those concerns, but those in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. I write under a pseudonym and though I’ve recently told my mother that I won a writing contest. I didn’t disclose the name of the contest “Reveal Your Inner Vixen.” *gasp*
I don’t think I am alone in avoiding the subject of sex in writing or even the topic of writing all together with our mothers. So what are your thoughts? Do you avoid telling your family what you write? Do you let your mother read your sex scenes or do you sing it from the tree tops?

KC Cline

KC is our newest girl with a pen. We’d like to welcome her aboard!

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Well maybe I just like things Complicated!

Marybeth — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:45:18 +0000

That’s right…you heard me! I kinda likes me a little complication here and there. Well not in real life of course, but in a book … nothing better I tell ya! I love being confused and wondering how, when, why and what the @?#*! It’s these questions that keep me reading.

I started to tell my husband about a story I was writing and he just looked at me and said, “Wow, that’s kinda complicated. Maybe a little too complicated.”

Now I could have sat back and been offended, and lets be honest, for a moment I was. But then … then I sat back and thought to myself. Yeah, this is pretty complicated … Perfect!

How do you feel about complications? Do you welcome them with open arms as though they were the prodigal son? Or do you tend to shy away from them as not to confuse your readers?

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Marybeth is an aspiring novelist currently working on her second novel. For more information visit her website www.marybethsmith.com. She also has a blog Desperately Searching for my Inner Mary Poppins where you can keep up on her moments as mother, wife and writer..

Going Postal?

TameshaH — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:00:37 +0000

Random action for the day…I sent a letter to my best friend in the mail! I suppose most of you are saying, “Well, that’s not random at all.” What if I told you that I see this person almost everyday? In addition, we talk on the phone and send texts on a daily basis. Now, I bet you are like “LOL, this is a bit random”. The funny thing is I felt compelled to do as if I could be more truthful on the page than I could have ever been in person. As I was standing in front of the mailbox for a brief moment there was a sense of angst [ok, to be honest…stupidity] but I dropped it the mail slot anyway. It felt like the right thing to do even though I had that one moment of doubt According to Newsweek, letter writing was once commonplace and the lack of doing so [letter writing] is due to a cultural shift, i.e., texting, internet chats and video chats. For historians, a paper trail is very important in the study of the human race. How they react(ed) to the society around them is crucial to development of the past and present. If one day, the “lights” went out on the internet, where would our history go? So, to make the soul feel a little bit better, I’ll tell it…it was a part of history

As a writer or a soul dwelling in the technology age, let’s challenge each other to write letters more often than texting, video chatting or speaking on the phone. Now, if it is an emergency please do not send letters to the fire department or the police! Picking up the phone or yelling down the street is most acceptable

Moreover, if you feel obliged to share a small portion of the letter with the Ladies with the Pens, it would be greatly appreciated. We would love to have an insight to pieces of your history!

~Confectionately Yours,

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