Sue’s Blog

As one calendar year ends and a new one begins, I spend some time thinking about the past twelve months. What did I like about them? What could use some improvement? How can I effect change in the parts of my life that I don’t really care for? 2019 was…

Our family usually spends Thanksgiving at my sister’s in New Hampshire with multitudes of relatives and friends. But not this year. My youngest son and his girlfriend had just moved to Utah and were still settling in. When we volunteered to spend the holiday with them, they accepted. I immediately…

Since I returned from my mini-Steinbeck odyssey, I’ve had the chance to read Peter Zheutlin’s (a festival guest speaker) soon-to-be-released book The Dog Went Over the Mountain. Motivated by John Steinbeck, Zheutlin took a cross-country trip in 2018 with his rescue dog Albie. The two traversed America in a convertible…

I recently returned from a solo trip to Salinas, CA. While there, I attended the 38th Annual Steinbeck Festival “In Search of America” at the National Steinbeck Center, right in the heart of Salinas. This year’s highlighted book just happened to be one of my favorites, Travels with Charley. Though…

With two sons currently living in Texas, I’ve come to realize that there are a lot of stereotypes about the Lone Star State out there. For example, in Dallas everything is slathered in barbeque sauce, everyone drives a big truck and carries a gun, and the men there are all…

A restaurant has to be really exceptional for me to give it a five-star rating. Harry Caray’s Italian Steakhouse on West Kinzie was that good. After a long day visiting the Shedd Aquarium and strolling around sunny Chicago, we were all starving. The kids and I decided to try an…

Fresh from an excellent five-day vacation in San Antonio, Texas, I’m going to write about a few of the considerations that made our trip so enjoyable. Our group included me, my good friend Jeanne, my son Russ, and two of his friends. The first mutual decision Jeanne and I had…

It all started when I was in Phoenix this month. Marie Kondo seemed to be everywhere. She was even part of a sermon at The Grove, a church I attended with my friends! We all talked about her in the hot tub at Aji Spa, and her philosophy and decluttering…

Lots of great writing advice to share, following the 2019 Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference I attended in Phoenix at the end of February. The first workshop I went to was “Writing for Change” with Yvette Johnson. According to her bio statement, Johnson is a writer, filmmaker, speaker, and the…

Halfway through the busy holiday season, my husband and I decided that we would require a little R&R once our three sons (and a girlfriend) had departed. We took off the week between Christmas and New Years and began to plan our getaway. We ran into a few obstacles, but…

This week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is an ideal time to read, watch movies (big screen or Netflix), go to museums, or listen to music. All of these are great ways to reinvigorate your creativity after a hectic holiday month. You may already have certain artists or activities…

Halfway through 2018, I made a strategic decision to take a break from writing parenting articles for a few years. I’m at that in-between stage, where my kids are adults (at least most days!) and I don’t have any grandchildren yet. Once I finish up two current projects, the world is…

I’m a writer. Words mean everything to me. When used passionately they can become one of the most powerful and persuasive tools for change I know. In an increasingly polarized political climate, civil and not-so-civil words have been used in so many ways. Everywhere people turn-television, online, print, radio, novels,…

I've always been a list person. Traditionally I’ve had multiple lists, a notebook full of them-for different work projects, business tasks, and home and personal chores. This system worked great until my mom died, the ultimate loss in a long string of them. One day I woke up and discovered…

At the end of September Tammy and I hit the road for our annual camping/girlfriend getaway trip. This fall we decided to begin our adventures by checking off an item on my ever-growing bucket list. Our first stop was Providence, Rhode Island to experience WaterFire firsthand. We arrived at our…

I won’t lie; last week was a tough one. I’m not a writer who suffers much from writer’s block but by Friday afternoon it had hit me like a ton of bricks. I drafted two blog posts over the course of an hour but they were both worthless. I grudgingly…

After a rather lengthy hiatus from blogging I’m back! Before I tackle any serious topics, I’m going to start the last month of summer with a travel post to help you to have some fun in the sun before Labor Day arrives. Here we go! Best of Cape Cod 2018…

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to be cooperative, helpful, and pleasant when a reporter contacts you about an article. I know I’ve blogged about this before but somehow the topic just keeps resurfacing. Here’s the deal. You have one business which, if you’re a business owner that…

As far as I’m concerned, the 71st EWA in Los Angeles was a worthwhile investment of my time and money! Although the theme was a familiar one for 2017/2018, one of the aspects I appreciated most was that sessions weren’t limited to just a single type of diversity. My packed…

While cleaning out the papers in my office, I came across a notation I’d made in 2009: Writer’s Tool Belt Purpose Patience Passion Persistence All these will light the way to success! Truer words were never written. As much as we may want things to be exciting and glamorous in…

Because it’s Monday and I’m still recovering from a weekend of yardwork, this post is going to be about a less serious, but still relevant and useful, topic at the AWP18 conference. The discussion was titled “The Worst Writing Advice I Ever Got”.  Amazingly, bad advice is a huge part…

First off, apologies for not blogging for some time. March was a particularly hectic month but that’s no excuse. So-onto AWP18, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference I recently attended in Tampa. With literally hundreds of top-notch discussions about everything from writing topics, the craft of writing, and…

Oddly enough, marketing The Ultimate Guide to College Transfer: From Surviving to Thriving has turned out to be almost as, if not more, challenging than writing and publishing the book. Given this, I recently reached out to a more seasoned colleague from Education Writers Association, Daniel Connolly (author of The…

Interviewing others is a skill that professional writers like me need to master. The odds are that most of us will have to interview multiple sources at some point in our careers, so why not do the best job possible? 5 Tips for a Better Interview Really listen to what…

Hard to believe that the first week of February has come and gone already! I wish I could say the month had started off as an easy, productive one but it didn’t. However, today begins the second week of the month and I’m determined to turn things around before I…

I love going to big-screen movies! Last weekend I dragged my husband to see I, Tonya-a movie I hadn’t been aware I wanted to watch until I started reading the reviews. It wasn’t Tonya Harding or Nancy Kerrigan, or even the chance to see some amazing figure skating that drew…

I love New Year’s resolutions! For me, they’re a time to think about what directions I want my writing career to venture in for the coming year. Thoughtful resolutions are great to use as a measuring stick halfway through the year (usually in June) to see how I’m progressing. Take…

By November 8th, I had the daily routine down. By 7:30 I was up, showered, dressed, and seated in the hotel restaurant. Breakfast was a plate with two eggs, bread, and grapefruit slices. Not a single bite was wasted; I only took what I was certain I would eat. I…

Our group’s first stop once we’d cleared Customs, was the Plaza de la Revolucion, a square that has been the site for many political rallies and revolutions that have altered the course of Cuban history. This was also our first introduction to Jose Marti, one of Cuba’s greatest heroes, whose…

I recently returned from a week-long People-to-People trip to Cuba through Cornell’s Adult University. True confession-I have not ventured outside of North America since 1991! The other novel part of the trip was that, prior to Cuba, I had never taken an organized group trip and wasn’t sure how I…

The response to my first post on Steve Harrison’s free teleseminar, “7 Most Common Mistakes Authors Make”, was extremely positive!  Given this, I’m sharing a few more of his tips and how I am, or will be, using them for my nonfiction book. Break a myth that people want you…

I haven’t taken advantage of one of Steve Harrison’s free teleseminars for some time. So, with a nonfiction book that just came out in June, when I saw “7 Most Common Mistakes Authors Make” it seemed like a golden opportunity. What I like about Harrison’s teleseminars is that they offer…

My mother passed away in April. As is often the case, her death was both expected and a total shock to those of us who loved her. Intellectually I knew that losing my last remaining parent would be tough. But I didn’t realize how much it would impact me emotionally.…

Labor Day has come and gone and it’s back to work for most of us. But, before you get into your fall routine, take a few minutes to take stock of where you have been so far and where you’d like to be at the end of 2017. What are…

When my son suggested that I come to New Jersey for my annual camping vacation with my friend Tammy, I was dubious to say the least. I didn’t know much about the Garden State and what I had heard made it seem less than inviting. But he insisted I would…

“Throw your journal away!” is often the first advice new writers hear from more experienced authors, journalists, and bloggers. Whether journal writing for writers is a helpful strategy, an easy distraction, or a way to avoid having to get down to the serious business of producing something that will sell…

June has been an excellent month for fiction! Longer daylight hours and more energy means more time to read. Here are a few of my favorites: Mississippi Blood by Greg Iles I couldn’t wait for this book to come out! The final book in the trilogy of Natchez Burning (amazing…

One of the Education Writers Association excellent seminars, facilitated by Jane Elizabeth, Amy Kovac-Ashley, and Katie Kutsko from the American Press Institute, was called “Building Trust in an Era of Fake News”. It’s no secret that American news media has steadily lost credibility with the public and that trust and…

Just returned from the Education Writers Association annual seminar in Washington DC-fabulous as usual! The discussions I attended were amazing and I will have lots to blog about throughout the month. But for now I’m going to do a quick post based on the question I was asked several times.…

My first book will be published by Rowman & Littlefield in a few weeks. When I first began writing professionally, I never dreamed that this would be the book I’d spend almost eight years interviewing for, writing, revising, editing, and submitting over and over again; the book I’d ultimately see…

April showers may bring May flowers but unfortunately they also brought no blog posts. With my mother entering Hospice and passing away a few days later, it has been a tough month. I’ll write about that experience later. Right now it’s too fresh in my mind. This morning I’m going…

Goodbye March! Frankly I’m glad to see you go. April will arrive in less than 24-hours, bringing with it a renewed sense of hope, more daylight hours, and all sorts of new story ideas. A question I often hear as a writer is “Where do you get your ideas?” or…

In my last post I discussed some ways writers procrastinate, ending the piece with a few ways to avoid this trap. Here’s another tip that I found while I was straightening up my office this afternoon. Since I’m a morning person, I try to do my most important writing in…

A writer’s job is to write-right? Though this seems self-evident, it’s amazing how easy it is to let a day, a week, or even a month, go by without actually writing anything of real merit. There has been plenty of advice dispensed about how hard it is for writers that…

According to popular belief March either comes in like a lion or a lamb. Yesterday it couldn't seem to make up its mind. Most of the day was sunny and in the high sixties in the Finger Lakes Region. But suddenly the weather took an abrupt turn for the lionish.…

The one good thing (actually the only good thing) about being sick is that you can lie on the couch and read without feeling like you should be doing something more productive. I’ve been down and out for the last week and have managed to read some of the books…

My youngest son and I are both writers. He will graduate in May with a degree in creative writing, several years of experience editing his school’s literary journal, a novel-in-progress, and years of writing instruction along with several writing conferences under his belt including Breadloaf in Vermont. We occasionally joke…

I drove to Seneca Falls last weekend to participate in the Women’s March there. It was a symbolic choice of marching venues; as board member of Friends of Women’s Rights National Park, Marilyn Tedeschi, said “All roads lead to Seneca Falls.” And it’s true. When I think of Seneca Falls…

With the federal holiday acknowledging Dr. King and the 2017 presidential inauguration falling in the same week, the timing couldn’t be better for this question. Education, voting rights and educational and economic equality were all key tenets of Dr. King’s philosophy. However, prior to his death, many feel he was…

Following the success of our family trip to New Orleans last New Year’s, we decided to welcome in 2017 in the Great White North. We hadn’t been to Toronto in eighteen years and all of us immediately fell in love with the cosmopolitan city all over again. What’s not to…

If you’re anything like me, the end of the calendar year is particularly challenging, both in terms of productivity and creativity. Don’t be a Scrooge! Every year, just about this time (mid-December) I begin to feel like I am the only writer who continues to be in my home office…

However you choose to celebrate, the holiday season is often a time when memories (be they joyous or traumatic) come flooding back. The sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of this particular time of year tend to cause emotions to rise to the surface of your consciousness. Though this may feel…

Warning-this post may involve some serious work on your part! LinkedIn and Twitter connections know that, in preparation for National Novel Writing Month, I recently made a serious attempt at cleaning my office. Fellow writers will understand that this is no easy endeavor. Those of us who make a career…

I’ve kept diaries and journals since I was a kid. But it was Julia Cameron and The Artist’s Way that got me to kick it up a notch to “morning pages” about five years ago. To me there are two types of journaling-those in which you simply record what is…

I thought I was strong enough to do it, but it turned out to be impossible. I just couldn't stay away from the Atlantic Ocean-not even for one summer. So, for the first time in twenty-five years, my husband and I spent four absolutely gorgeous days camping at Nickerson State Park…

It’s official! Labor Day has come and gone, your summer whites are put away, and the time is right to return to work-hopefully rested and rejuvenated. If you’re anything like me, you may need a few transitional days to ease back into your usual proficient and prolific lifestyle. Here are…

I’ve realized that my images for my social media were not the greatest for some time now. First I told myself it didn’t matter because the photos “weren’t that bad” and a “writer was supposed to look accessible, like a real person”. Then I decided to ask a friend or…

Where has this summer gone? It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a few weeks since I returned from my eventful trip south. My camping friend Tammy and I try to go one interesting place each summer and this year the mountains won out over the ocean. Once we…

My last post, “Five Things I Learned about Writing a Book” generated quite a bit of interest so I’d like to talk some more about how to choose readers for your manuscript. Something I’ve heard, and read, a lot is that writers shouldn’t choose people they know well to evaluate…

Draft a Table of Contents This will give you the structure you need to stay on track. It is quite easy to meander away from your topic and find yourself on a totally different path than where you began. That said, don’t think of the TOC as a static document.…

Apologies for falling off the blog wagon once again. Today I will finally conclude my posts about the Education Writers Association National Seminar’s presentations. As I mentioned previously, I try to develop a schedule ahead of time for much of the conference. But I do like to leave a little…

I’m going to interrupt my regularly scheduled post from the EWA conference to take a slight detour to Cleveland. My son graduated from college last weekend, a joyous and celebratory occasion for us all. So when he suggested that we take a walk in his favorite cemetery our last day…

Our school districts here in Tompkins County are an interesting mix of urban, suburban, and rural. I ran across the term “digital inequity” at a public meeting last year and the term intrigued me. Having sent three boys to our village school and holding strong personal views on the increasing…

Just returned from the Education Writers Association’s National Seminar in Boston where I attended a number of excellent presentations about all sorts of education-related topics. My general rule-of-thumb when conferencing is to go to a few talks on topics I’m familiar with and write about often, but after that it’s…

Blogging can be a lot of work. Sometimes ideas for posts just fly into my head while walking the Rim Trail with the dog, driving to a meeting, or working on one of my regular writing assignments. Unfortunately sometimes they don’t, and I find myself searching in vain for something…

I have discovered Louise Penny and Three Pines! Better late than never I always say. For months now, people have been urging me to start the series (in the order the books were written) so I finally picked up Still Life and was instantly hooked. As in staying up way…

I’m always reading about ways to improve my writing, my work schedule, and my productivity. One of the suggestions I’ve heard multiple times is to be more specific with the goals you set by pairing action steps with them. I decided to give this a try in 2016 by setting…

Judi, Melissa, and I have known each other since kindergarten. Naturally I was really excited when they both ended up in Phoenix because it meant I could see both of them whenever I visited. This trip was a bit different, as I made a strategic decision beforehand to combine business…

I have a confession to make. I’ve never been that fond of Florida as a vacation destination. When I think of that southern state, I envision strip malls, mobile home parks, and slow drivers. What will we possibly do there for five days? I wondered. But never let it be…

It happens to the best of us. One morning you wake up and it seems like everything you try to write takes twice as long, no fresh ideas trickle into your less-than-fertile brain, and the work you usually take pleasure from feels like a ball and chain around your ankle.…

For me, LinkedIn updates offer a perfect way to showcase the articles I’ve written about parenting, education, farm-to-table, politics, and fun in the Finger Lakes with my followers. The pieces I share are intended to enlighten, inform, or entertain all my professional connections, not just my writing colleagues. Not only…

One of my 2016 New Year’s resolutions was to try one different thing to improve my writing skills each month. So the last week of January found me attending an Oral History 101 workshop at The History Center in Tompkins County with about forty other people. Here are a few…

As a feature article writer, a journalist, and a budding nonfiction book writer, interviewing ends up being a huge chunk of my daily work schedule. Fortunately it’s a part of my job that I like. In fact, I enjoy my interviews almost as much as the writing process or the…

Winter is a fantastic time to curl up in your bed or your favorite chair with a good book (unless it happens to have been hijacked by an entitled dog!) Here’s what’s been keeping me company so far this month. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman This was a…

Some people like to ring in the New Year with a bang; innovative cocktails, loud bands, crowds, and a fireworks display preceded by something large dropping from several stories above their heads. Others prefer to hunker down at home with a fancy dinner, a few friends, and a good movie.…

This will be my last post of the year. I’m planning to send 2015 out with a bang by welcoming in 2016 from New Orleans, a city I’ve always wanted to visit. Two weeks ago I wrote about the things I was proud of accomplishing this year . Today I'll…

Mid-December, when it often seems like no one else is working, is a great time to take stock of the year that is ending and to begin to plan for the upcoming year. Luckily, holiday activities like baking, cleaning, wrapping, and taking long walks to work off all the candy…

Sometimes everything you say or do feels lackluster. Over the years I’ve discovered that when you are in this frame of mind doing something creative, even if it has nothing to do with writing, can be just the spark you need to rekindle your prose. One dreary Wednesday found me…

My apologies for falling off the blog wagon once again. It's been more a shortage of time than of ideas. I promise I'll try to do better in December!

As writers we often hear the advice “less is more” or “show don’t tell”. But we have so many thoughts in our brains and so many words to choose from that it can be next to impossible to understand what this is supposed to mean or how to do it…

Last week, stiff as a board from writing and interviewing all week, I treated myself to a massage and sauna at one of our local spas. The massage was exactly what I needed, and I was just starting to close my eyes and bask in the dry sauna heat when…

My last post praised the many attributes of Dallas. However, this week I also feel compelled to share a not-so-fond impression of the city. Today marks the last day of Banned Book Week, seven days I feel very strongly about. In my view, censorship of reading materials is wrong in…

This was our second visit to my oldest son’s new hometown of Oak Cliff, Texas. This time we decided to stay right around the corner and try out the latest trend (for us oldsters anyway!) Airbnb. As luck would have it, we found a “casita”, right within walking distance of…

Memoir writing isn’t as easy as it sounds. Our minds are adept at changing, blocking, or eliminating entirely memories that haunt us or arouse strong, usually negative, feelings in our psyches. Though my friends frequently tell me that I should write a book about the adventures our family has had…

You may have thought that, after several trips to the Hoosier State, I would have run out of things to share with you about the Midwest. Not so! On our latest trip to drop off our youngest son at Valparaiso, I still managed to find three new things to share…

Last week, in an attempt to read something related to my actual career, I picked up Annie Dillard’s The Writing Life at my local library. I imagined I’d slog through it and then return to my summer diet of mysteries and the latest fiction releases. But, I found myself engaged…

This summer has been a great one for reading! If you’re looking for a good book to relax with in the dog days of August, here are a few suggestions: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins This book has gotten rave reviews and frankly, I couldn’t resist the…

This spring my friend Deb and I suffered a tremendous loss when her husband, and my good friend, passed away after a heroic battle with cancer. None of my usual coping mechanisms (like journaling) seemed to be working and I felt like I was floundering when suddenly I remembered a…

July 2015 is rapidly drawing to a close. By now, I’ve had enough time to process some of the ongoing controversy and discussion surrounding the release of Harper Lee’s new-to-us novel, Go Set a Watchman. I have been truly amazed by the variety of reactions voiced or written about this…

Writers need to have fun in the summer too! Something I’ve discovered over the years is that you don’t have to shut yourself in your office with the blinds drawn every day to get things accomplished in June, July, and August. With a little creativity and a lot of flexibility,…

I’d like to share my latest discovery, William Zinsser’s book On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, with you. I found his tips on how to improve your basic skills as a writer both practical and helpful, along with his assertion that there’s no excuse for sloppy writing or…

Graffiti is visual pollution, right? Not always. The other day, I was walking along the Erie Canal when I spotted the white-painted words on the underside of a bridge spanning the water that read, “They Say It’s Lonely at the Top”. My first thought was “I’d like the chance to…

I just returned from a trip to Boston where I had the opportunity to learn more about two influential men, similar in some ways, dissimilar in others. My first stop was the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. I think we all enter places like this with certain preconceptions…

I began my writing career late in life. I’m over fifty and I don’t have an undergraduate degree in English or Creative Writing or an MFA. Maybe that should deter me. Perhaps I should be more sensible and practical and get a job with a regular paycheck and benefits. But…

Most of us know that life can often change in a heartbeat. Three weeks ago, my blog post was optimistically entitled, “Living a Life Full of Anticipation”. April had been an excellent month for me. I had lots of interesting assignments and people to interview. I entered several short stories…

One of the best parts of reading short stories is the anticipation. Admit it! When you open the first page (or turn on your Kindle or Nook) aren’t you looking forward to what you might learn, about yourself and others, from the story’s characters and their adventures and mishaps? What…

Guest Post by Lucia Tyler,  Ph.D., Tyler Admissions Consulting Students dread the college essay. Why?  Often they have not reflected on their life or practiced writing about it.  This is the perfect opportunity to show a college who you are beyond the numbers—beyond the test scores and the GPA. In…

I had the good fortune to hear Boris Fishman (A Replacement Life) speak at Writers & Books in Rochester the other night. I always find published writers’ talks helpful in terms of learning about concrete steps I can take to improve my writing and to plan for future creative endeavors.…

April showers bring mud, and lots of it, at least in my little corner of the world. It sometimes feels like you’re walking in quicksand and that everything around you is brown and depressing. The colorlessness of the landscape makes it easy for artists to slip into a slump, even…

The absolute best meal we had in Phoenix, hands down, was our first one at the Barrio Café on the corner of Thomas and North 16th Streets. From the outside, Barrio looks like just another unpretentious neighborhood eatery, just our type of place. But appearances can be deceiving! Once inside,…

The Tucson Festival of Books exceeded my wildest expectations, despite occasional frustration of long lines for many of the author conversations and panels and the limited seating in others. I could write pages about the six discussions by famous writers that I was able to participate in, which included:  Dave…

I’ve never been a huge fan of the Southwest. I prefer cool weather, lush vegetation, and lots of bodies of water over spiders, cacti, and heat, even if it is “dry heat” as we are constantly reassured by those who call The Grand Canyon State home! However, I now have…

In the past, I’ve posted about supplies to take to writing events. But this evening, I’d rather focus on what I hope to accomplish at the 2015 Festival. Besides hearing famous authors speak about topics they’re passionate about, attending the Rock Bottom Remainders literacy-benefitting concert Friday night, and being surrounded…

Much of what we write is serious. News stories, feature articles, newsletters, and press releases should be compelling, but also accurate. Though these are all challenging and rewarding writing projects, sometimes writers, like anyone else, need to let off a little steam, to add a bit of frivolity to the…