Cynthia Harrison

Novelist

Category: Balancing Writing & Life

  • In Stitches

    I sliced some skin on my two favorite fingers the other day, requiring stitches and pain pills. Right hand, index and thumb. This morning I discovered that I need these exact digits to zip my jeans. Looks like yoga pants for the holidays. Not easy to type either, so keeping this short. I’ll be back…

  • Tricks of the Sentence Trade

    There are teachers who write and writers who teach; we are separate species. I’m a writer who teaches, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about my day job. It means it’s a job, not my life’s passion. It’s an interesting job for a writer, too, since I’m helping college freshmen learn tricks of the sentence trade. I would…

  • Galley Edits & Gratitude

    As a book reviewer, I learned that “galleys” were the final manuscript, set in print, before publication. Galleys were what we mostly read. They had plain covers and came with an info-packed publicity note. We were always told that we should not quote from galleys unless the publicist agreed. I found that it was okay to…

  • Do Drugs Affect Writing?

    After a visit to my dealer, I mean doctor, yesterday, I caught a glint of something positive removing the migraine curse I’ve been under for six weeks now. Doc & I have been together ten years and he knows my triggers. Weather, wind, rain, low pressure systems. Also dentist visits. And stress. Yesterday as I told my…

  • Huge Meltdown, No Writing

    This past weekend, I went to the store and bought cookies, chocolate bars, ice cream, and fudge sauce. Monday, and it is all gone. Huge meltdown, no writing. Why? A friend, or a former friend, because I can’t take this anymore, accused me of being an malicious liar. She’d done this once before, also in a…