Author: Cassandra Chandler
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Monkey Mind
It’s amazing the things that I’ll come up with to distract myself from writing (take this blog post, for instance). Earlier, I caught myself looking at my arms and wondering if my biceps were the same size. I’ll suddenly remember a picture that I just have to send to someone right that moment. The most…
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Ebb and Flow
Writing every day is a wonderful habit to cultivate. I work hard to make the time, to show the discipline to make it happen. Sometimes, though, I need to let go of that expectation. Life is busy and curve-balls can come out of nowhere. It’s important to make a consistent practice of writing. It’s also…
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Thinking Outside Yourself
Lately, the summer sky has been filled with enormous fluffy white clouds. High altitude winds sometimes stack them into floating skyscrapers. I’ve been watching them as much as I can, imprinting them in my memory to call up when my mind gets stuck in the details of living. It’s made me realize just how much…
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Community
When you write, you’re never alone. Your characters are with you, your worlds. And if you’re lucky, so is your muse. I see my muse as that inner voice that tells me to add a paragraph break in a spot where I don’t think it’s necessary, but provides perfect pacing when I’m reading the piece…
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Shoes
I am not a person who is overly fond of shoes. I own maybe half a dozen pairs and only actually wear three of them (everyday sneakers, sandals for rare skirt appearances, and hiking boots for muddy days at the park). I’m usually most concerned about comfort when I search for clothing, so I have…
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For Love of Writing
Sometimes I forget why I’m here. Not in the existential sense, but why I’m at the keyboard. Why do I stay up late and skip gatherings or even meals to get the words down on the page? What drives me to keep writing book after book, to continuously study the craft and the industry, when…
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Chiaroscuro
When you write shorter pieces, the good and the bad can be more sharply defined. You don’t have time or word count to soften the edges. Maybe this is why my weaknesses become so much more apparent to me in shorter works. If I’m repeating the same phrases or words in an 80,000 word novel,…
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20 Questions (or maybe 10)
When the urge to write appears, I want to be ready to take advantage of that early fire to the fullest extent possible. The first flush of creativity makes the words fly forth from my fingertips and I’m on top of the world (whichever world I happen to be writing in). Inevitably, the words slow,…
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“In Time”
I’ve often heard the expression that things come in their own time. I’m not always the most patient of people. Lady Wafflenose (my inner critic) takes this to the next level. She has a schedule, and she expects my creativity to reach maximum velocity at specific intervals and make stops at all the right stations…
Cassandra Chandler 