Setting Lights the Way I love talking to authors about where their ideas come from, and I’m fascinated by the small seeds that blossom over time into a full-fledged novel. In workshops, I hear about starting the writing process with a character in mind (a nurse, grieving the death of her nephew), and one of my writing friends won’t write a word until her main character is living in her head and carrying on conversations.
When Zebras Meet Managing Under-Researched Conditions I’ve written before about the old medical school mantra, “When you hear hoofbeats, look for horses, not zebras.” In other words, consider the common diagnoses first. Sounds reasonable; but keep in mind that the saying originated back when medical school was a white guys’ club. In practice, “Horses, not zebras,” too often translates as, “Focus on conditions that are common to male Caucasians.” Illnesses that primarily affect women (such as migraines,
It’s Our Time! Women 50 & Beyond Need Our Own Mature-Age College Pathway Older women in Australia, the UK and the US came of age when women had limited access to higher education (thus limiting our access to higher paid careers). Providing a ready pathway to complete our education could address the financial and social challenges we now face. How We Got Here It took from the 1960s to 2024 for women to go from
Crafting My Book of Essays Let’s say you have been writing essays for years. Might be blogs; might be Substack essays; might be short nonfiction in magazines. Perhaps writing essays was your primary goal, or you may have intended these pieces as publicity to lure readers to your books. But eventually these shorter works begin calling to you. Your essays want to be more than ephemera; they need to be read as a body of
Marriage: The Business of Romance Many of us grew up with firm ideas about love and marriage: Charming Princes coming to our rescue, “playing house” with our friends. Yet our divorce rate is over 40%. While our expectations of marriage do not match reality, the money we spend on weddings keeps growing (Estimated wedding market in 2024: $65 Billion). Love and trust require initial clarity and lifetime maintenance. This essay is for those seeking a
Had to Get this Off My Chest. I can picture her white uniform, and the cap from her Chicago nursing school pinned to her dark, curly hair. The year is 1953. She is 27, a floor nurse at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla. She’s in motion all day, bringing medications, lifting and turning patients. She is also newly pregnant for the first time. On a break she stops at the ladies’ room and realizes she
