http://mindsprocket.com/thebackpage The Back Page is where the feet go up on the desk at the end of the day. It’s that good book with a mug of hot cocoa just before bed. It’s where we goof off after a hard day’s work. The Back Page is our blog. Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:12:55 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The truth is, I didn't get over hiding my body until I was with child. Until it wasn't my body anymore. Then it became more of a display case, for the life, the girl that was about to be. It became part hers, part mine, but neither ... http://mindsprocket.com/thebackpage/2010/02/02/an-excerpt-of-mine/ When I first seriously considered being a writer, I was in college. I was majoring in Music, but going to a liberal arts college meant that I was also taking at least three other classes not directly related to my major. In addition to the one Creative Writing class I was ... http://mindsprocket.com/thebackpage/2010/01/15/where-do-you-get-your-ideas/ My husband and I are creative, right-brain people. We are educated and capable. We know we have good ideas, we know we have connections and resources to help us. We discuss all kinds of creative things we could do: create websites, make videos, write stories, write music, just to name ... http://mindsprocket.com/thebackpage/2010/01/12/put-your-creativity-to-work/ My attempts at being online-savvy or even very social are halfhearted at the most. But if I hadn't been fooling around on Twitter for a half hour, I wouldn't have started following Colin Meloy (The Decemberists), and I wouldn't have discovered this sweet new music he linked to. Take a listen. ... http://mindsprocket.com/thebackpage/2009/12/30/liking-this-new-music/ Note: For an article on how to discover the world, scroll to the bottom of this post. My husband and I returned from a 9,500-mile road trip not too long ago. We didn't quite "drop everything and go" but we sure did leave it all behind for the four weeks we ... http://mindsprocket.com/thebackpage/2009/11/01/how-to-discover-america/ As November approaches, friendly emails start arriving in my inbox, trying to get me geared up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I look forward to NaNoWriMo all year, and yet now as I consider the fact that I have no idea what I want to write about let ... http://mindsprocket.com/thebackpage/2009/10/20/its-almost-that-time-again/ http://mindsprocket.com/thebackpage/2009/10/07/hello-autumn/ Frank McCourt died this month. I purposefully waited to announce my grief. Grief isn't timely. She conjures up old memories and feelings. Grief causes nostalgia. On the day I found out he died, I arrived home from work, and walked straight back into my bedroom, to my bookshelf, ... http://mindsprocket.com/thebackpage/2009/08/10/cheers-mr-mccourt/ "Work is not always required. There is such a thing as sacred idleness." --George MacDonald http://mindsprocket.com/thebackpage/2009/07/28/252/ The Mind Sprocket staff has been so wrapped up in Documenting the Unseen that we haven't been pushing as hard for pieces to publish on the website. Thankfully, we've pulled ourselves together and returned to our roots long enough to get not just any writing, but some HUMOR writing ... http://mindsprocket.com/thebackpage/2009/07/16/the-latest-in-publishing/