Kirby Larson's Blog, page 93

Rosy Ruminations

Yes, Virginia, there was a flower here yesterday.

This Nootka rose bush taught me two lessons this week. First, to take a photo of the last remaining bloom before it falls off the bush ("never put off until tomorrow. . ."), especially when I plan to write a blog post about it.

Can you see the rosehip?

The other lesson had to do with the fact that the bush was loaded with fat, juicy rosehips, an indication that the plant was blossomed out, readying itself for dormancy, for winter. And yet one per...

Tumbling Lessons

unpolished stones from our beach

I finally finished my first batch of tumbled rocks! Yes, I know it's a bit nerdy but I feel so proud of myself. And I love my polished rocks!
before and after
can you see them shine?


A friend gave me a lovely ceramic bowl and I could just picture it filled with polished white rocks of assorted sizes. So I loaded up my tumbler with those that I'd collected, tightened the knerled screw (I love that word, knerled!) and plugged in the tumbler.

After about an hour I not...

Me and Jonathan Franzen

I share a birthday with Jonathan Franzen, this week's Time magazine cover boy! The accompanying article calls him a "great American novelist."

I'm just saying. . .

Wily Winston

By now, you know I think the world revolves around Winston the Wonder Dog. He is one adorable doggy. . .and smart, too. Had us trained in no time.

And now he's taught me yet another lesson. We were walking on the spit, near Shangri-Lar, and he was on the trail of a bunny rabbit. Nose down, he was intent on finally capturing one of those wily hoppers. He was so intent, in fact, that he didn't even notice that a creature of the cotton tail variety skedaddled right past him.

I didn't laugh at him,...

Writing in a Wasteland

Riches from the sea

Here, in the Pacific Northwest, we suffer from an embarrassment of riches when it comes to ways to prime the creative pump: great indie bookstores that bring in interesting authors; Seattle Arts and Lecture series; art museums; monthly SCBWI meetings; writers conferences; retreats; the list could go on and on.

But what would I do if I lived someplace where there weren't all of these ways to recharge, creatively? What would I do if I lived, say, in Washtucna, Washington which...

Wordy Wednesday

I had something discouraging happen recently and, in an attempt to encourage me, my husband told me to "keep my dobbers up" (note: I took a wild stab at the spelling). It's an expression he's used a million times since I've known him but I never exactly knew what dobbers were. He didn't either! But, when he was a kid, he heard a sports announcer say a team needed to keep its dobbers up and it entered his vocab that way.

Of course I went to my beloved OED:

The float of an angler's fishing-line....

Ask Winston

Ask me! I know it all.

A writer in Austin submitted this question: What are the pros and cons to getting an agent first or an editor?

I personally think a chewy toy is preferable to either an agent or an editor but my two-legged writing friends say both are important folks. I tossed the question to my buddies Martha Brockenbrough, Holly Cupala and Lisa Sandell and quicker than I could bury a bone, they were back with these words of wisdom.

Martha Brockenbrough is the author of the forthcoming p...

Tune In Tomorrow

I don't know how he does it -- it must be those big brown eyes! -- but Winston got three very busy writers (Martha Brockenbrough, Holly Cupala and Lisa Ann Sandell) to answer this big question:

What are the pros and cons of getting an agent or an editor first?

Check back tomorrow for their great insights!

Happy Anniversary!

It's 57 years for these two lovebirds today.

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad!



from your favorite kid.*

(*just kidding. Please don't get out the wooden spoon!)

Thought for the day

I have been emailing with a friend who's been struggling with her work in progress. She was dismayed because, for the first time in her writing life, she'd had to chuck a solid beginning and start over. She worried about this change in her usual writing pattern, which reminded me of a quote I read somewhere that said

"Each book only teaches how to write that book."

A year ago April, I turned in a manuscript to my editor, a book I'd been working on for two years (think Dreaded Second Novel). Min...