• Are you a Plotter or a Pantser for the holidays?

    It’s that time of year again.  You may think I am referring to the four inches of snow outside, the frozen ice buckets in the barn, and the gas fireplace emitting warmth without a sound of a crackle. You have to love Virginia; we go from 58 one week and in the teens the next.

  • Why I Write

    “What does it take to lead a creative life?” This was a question asked and explored by the author and creator of #1000wordsofsummer, Jami Attenberg. She was the final speaker (of a dozen in the publishing industry) at the 2025 Deep Dive Virtual Retreat I attended over the weekend. The lineup of presenters that two

  • Man Bites Dog

    “If it bleeds, it leads” is what I heard applied to news stories. I think we can all agree that it takes much less these days to make news. One inappropriate comment on a late night talk show gets as much press coverage as a catastrophic hurricane. I learned about another journalism bit of wisdom

  • Happy International Women’s Day!

    I want to kick off Women’s History Month by sharing with my readers the piece I wrote last year focusing on the impact of gathering with other women. At the time I wrote it I was coming off of two special getaways with friends. Then later in that same year I wrote about traveling with

  • I’m Still Here (sing to the tune of “I’m Still Ken” from the Barbie movie)

    (14 minute read) I am alive and well. Even though colds, stomach bugs and COVID are jumping from house to house, I can assure my readers that my absence from the grizzlybearma blog has nothing to do with illness. Knock on wood.  It has been more than a few weeks since my last post. Christmas