Patty Smith Hall

As I've mentioned in my post Monday, I'm focusing on the relationships in my life this year and part of that process is getting to know each other. A lot of folks have problems with that--anytime you have to reveal yourself to someone, you run the risk of being rejected. Not that I've ever worried about that--I figure if you like me, great! And if you don't--well, there's just not that much I can do to change your mind. So in an effort to reveal the 'real' me, I borrowed an idea I saw in a weekly magazine where you share twenty-five things most people probably wouldn't know about you. But I'll only stick you with ten for right now. So without further delay. . . TEN THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME 1) Math has never been my strong suit. Whoever thought up the idea for the calculator must have had me in mind. 2) In high school, the librarian accused me to stealing a copy of Louisa May Alcott's 'Rose in Bloom' because a) she knew Alcott wa...

Writers are all about words; how you put them together in a sentence; how those words blend together to convey a thought or feeling. So it’s not surprising that an article by a brilliant writer on the process of selecting one word that would be a touchstone for the year to come would make such an impact on the writer in me. The first time I did this a few years back, I knew instantly what my word would be--I’d been struggling to finish my book and figured it might take an act of Congress(and we know how SLOW those guys are!) to get it done. So it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know I needed PERSEVERANCE. I mean, it made sense--I needed something to put my backside in a chair and write, and amazingly enough, having that word pushed me toward finishing my novel and eventually publication. This year, I’ve been having trouble coming up with a word to focus on. Not sure why, really--I’ve spent more time with my dictionary this year than I have some of my oldest friends. I’ve prayed ab...