Elin Stebbins Waldal

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The Act of Noticing

Jan 16, 2015 By elinwaldal 20 Comments

For years I had been in the habit of carrying a notebook, a catch-all where I collected bits and pieces of things that interested me — quotes, observations, facts — all notations that begged me to return to them. Then I read The Memoir Project, A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life, written by Marion Roach […]

Filed Under: On being a parent Tagged With: life observed, Love, mother and son, The Act of Noticing, Writing

Does Sorrow Prevent Joy

Dec 1, 2014 By elinwaldal 22 Comments

It is December 1st and against better judgment — I committed to publishing daily as part of NaBloPoMo — again. The theme this month is joy, a subject that actually does fascinate me, so if you are a regular here you can expect to hear a little more about it for the next 30 days. As it happens just […]

Filed Under: Death of a Parent, NaBloPoMo Dec 14 Tagged With: Creative Process, Grief, Joy, NaBloPoMo Dec 14, Writing

Goodbye November, Hello December

Nov 30, 2014 By elinwaldal 9 Comments

Just in time for us to wave goodbye to November and say hello to December, there is a breeze outside that seems determined to chase the warm temperatures away. In the distance clouds have formed, the sight of them leave me hoping that the weather channels warning of a rainstorm this week, is real. The idea that winter […]

Filed Under: NaBloPoMo Nov 14 Tagged With: Friendship, NaBloPoMo14, Writers, Writing

November

Nov 2, 2014 By elinwaldal 18 Comments

With an extra hour tucked into my pocket like a newfound treasure, I watched as the morning sky kept it’s daily promise to shake the dark from its edges and bring back the sun. And I thought, welcome November, welcome. In Southern California November’s arrival means autumn has permission to really show up. Crisp air. Brilliant foliage. […]

Filed Under: Living, NaBloPoMo Nov 14 Tagged With: Grateful, November, Thankful, Writing

Write What Haunts You

Apr 27, 2014 By Elin Stebbins Waldal 18 Comments

“Write what haunts you, lest you spend your life amidst drivel. Write what you care most about, the beauty, the absurdity, and the sorrow of the world.”–Jane Resh Thomas In the quiet of an unoccupied room I exhaled the words I’d just read in a whisper… “Write what haunts you…” Had you asked me prior to […]

Filed Under: Grief, Just Write Tagged With: Death of Mother, Grief, Loss of Mother, Writing

The Blog: Perspective Day 12

Feb 12, 2014 By Elin Stebbins Waldal Leave a Comment

As if it were yesterday, I remember launching my first website. It went “live” and then everything that was wrong with the copy became obvious. Glaring typos. Run-on sentences. Tense errors. Oh my. My brother John was visiting. We sat side by side in front of my computer and smoothed out all of the grammatical […]

Filed Under: Blog Lessons Tagged With: blogging lessons, Women, Writing

The Re-Write

Jan 31, 2014 By Elin Stebbins Waldal 4 Comments

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” ― Ernest Hemingway Bleeding about sums it up, although in my case, it was at a computer where I bled-out my first draft. Galvanized by my desire to add a real story to the well of fictional stories that […]

Filed Under: All things Writing Tagged With: Memoir, Publishing a Book, Re-write, Tornado Warning-Memoir, Writers, Writing

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