Category Archives: Writing

What’s in a Word?

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Mary Fran Says

I have this thought process I call lilypadding, where I start at a certain point with a thought, an idea, or a memory, and fifty-seven or so thoughts later, I am at a seemingly unrelated place. Do you do this, … Continue reading →

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ed2go

Posted on February 19, 2024 by Mary Fran Says

I’m excited to share that I’ve signed up for a four-part online writing series with ed2go through Kishwaukee Community College. I like to claim that I am a good student, but it’s been a very long time since I was … Continue reading →

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The Author is Back

Posted on November 20, 2023 by Mary Fran Says

All right, I admit it, it’s been a long couple of under-productive years. Even though things are open, back to “normal”, there is a lingering fog of post-lockdown effect. It makes me sluggish, anti-social, lazy. After a lengthy lethargy, I … Continue reading →

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Writers Inspire

Posted on November 13, 2023 by Mary Fran Says

I attended a very good friend’s Book Launch yesterday. It was a wonderful event in a terrific location celebrating a great accomplishment. Seeing the fruits of her labors, experiencing the accolades of friends and family, readers and writers, it was … Continue reading →

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Tips and Tricks of Nailing NaNo

Posted on October 23, 2023 by Mary Fran Says

What is NaNo?It’s short for National Novel Writing Month, a global event that takes place during the month of November and has been building a following since its inception in 1999. Writers from around the world commit to writing 50,000 … Continue reading →

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Bargain Shopping

Posted on August 28, 2023 by Mary Fran Says

I recently bought two paperback books from the library bookshelf sale. The first, called Dog Songs, is a New York Times bestselling book of poems by Mary Oliver. It won the Pulitzer Prize. The other, Choosing Civility: The Twenty-five Rules … Continue reading →

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Writers’ Police Academy

Posted on June 19, 2023 by Mary Fran Says

When I received the email from the Writers’ Police Academy stating it was their LAST, I quickly solicited a group of fellow writers to join me in Appleton, Wisconsin for five days. I was NOT going to miss this writers’ … Continue reading →

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Ownership by Association

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Mary Fran Says

This ‘ownership’ is a connection you feel to something or someone based on a simple exchange. A crossing of paths, comment in passing, or random shared experience. That encounter becomes an object of emotional permanence. My good friend and fellow … Continue reading →

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A Shiny New Thing

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Mary Fran Says

I am constantly distracted. Part curiosity, part adventure, part procrastination. I often find myself meandering off track, sometimes even darting, for some shiny new treasure that is not what I am supposed to be focusing on. This happens most often … Continue reading →

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Frequency Illusion

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Mary Fran Says

Frequency illusion, also known as the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, is a cognitive bias, an illusion of familiarity. That thing where you do/buy/wear/discover something and all of a sudden that something is everywhere?! I know you’ve experienced it, now you can put … Continue reading →

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