Patrice’s note: This is a repeat of one of my favorite posts from past years. In this discussion of the orphan as redeemer, I talk about the particular role of girl orphans in Victorian literature. Ann of Green Gables Emily of New Moon Sarah Crewe Mary Lennox What do all of these famous orphans have in common? They all bring redemption to the families that bring them into their homes. The trope of orphan as Read more…
Welp, after The Great Outlining Disaster of 2014, I went back to pantsing it. Going along great, words are flowing, not sure about Chapter 4, but I keep plowing along, and then, first slowly and then with increasing speed, the further I get, the more the derailed cars pile up. Scenes go nowhere. Characters say the weirdest things. Events that should happen from one POV are muddled because they are observed by someone whose goat Read more…
Forty years ago, a “friend” and her gang tried to kill me. Memory is a funny thing. A lot of things could have happened that night. It could have all been made up. They could have lost their nerve. I could be remembering it all wrong. What happened was this: my mom trusted her gut, and didn’t let me go out of the house. D was the older sister of my best friend. I crushed Read more…