By Eleanor Shelton On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress announcing the colonies’ separation from Great Britain. The Declaration was actually adopted on July 2, and a clean copy signed by the congress on August 2, 1776, but let’s not quibble about a couple of days when theContinue reading “The Words Matter”
Tag Archives: Eleanor Shelton
Under The Provincial Sun
(Or I’m Bored. I think I’ll write a book.) By Eleanor Shelton My mother and father have been living in Turkey stuck after the pandemic shut everything down. A Covid vacation, if you will. During my last phone call with my mother, she said, “Well, I’ve read all the books I brought. I might asContinue reading “Under The Provincial Sun”
May The 4th Be with You
By Eleanor Shelton It was recently May 4th. Don’t mock. An argument could be made that it is a more appropriate holiday than the following day. George Lucas has said that he was inspired by of the earliest Celtic stories of Arthur and the paladins in The Mabinogion and reimagined it as a space odyssey.Continue reading “May The 4th Be with You”
It Can (And Should) Happen.
By Eleanor Shelton There was a French female rugby player who was a shoo-in for the French national rugby team. The Olympics were on the horizon. She even got the five rings tattooed on her forearm. One day she was jogging through the woods, a place she regularly ran, when a tree randomly fell onContinue reading “It Can (And Should) Happen.”
Put Your Story on A Stage
By Eleanor Shelton As a writer, the best gift I ever received was to hear my scene being brought to life by professional actors. I was invited to participate in a playwriting class at a regional theater. I had never written a play, nor did I think I was about to. But the course neededContinue reading “Put Your Story on A Stage”
Word Count Woes
By Eleanor Shelton As we all know, stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Nothing new there. But just how many words it takes to get there is highly regulated, especially for debut novelists. All novels should be at least 60,000 words. Otherwise, they’re novellas. Less than 20,000, and they’re short stories. And depending onContinue reading “Word Count Woes”
I Am A Literary Hypochondriac
By Eleanor Shelton I come by it, naturally. My aunt was always dying of something horrible (she actually did die of something terrible). My grandmother was convinced she had cancer (she never had cancer). If I have a headache, an ache, a pain, I’m sure I have COVID, an autoimmune disease, or malignant tumors. JustContinue reading “I Am A Literary Hypochondriac”
Spying through The Zoom Lens
By Eleanor Shelton I thought I finished writing about the pandemic. I’m weary from finding ways to convert coronavirus’s consequences into lessons learned that affect my writing. They exist, certainly. And I’m guessing you’re fatigued from reading about it. But I think I’ve got one more. Wake up!
The Perfect Antidote
By Eleanor Shelton The sun is shining brightly over the mountains, there are hiking trails, time galore to do what you want, wine, good food, naps, reading. It sounds like the perfect vacation, right? Except, it’s a writing retreat. So, where’s the writing? Where’s the inspiration when you have the ideal time for it? WhatContinue reading “The Perfect Antidote”
Accountability Partners: Man, Beast, or Tech
By Eleanor Shelton My Fitbit died last week. It had always been on my wrist (other than showers) for the last year and a half. It held me accountable for moving more, celebrated when I moved a lot more, and actually told me the time. Something is missing that had become part of me.
The Writing Bug 