Thoughts about writing, and the universe.
When the tide recedes, great shards of frozen fjord shatter against the shore. The ocean leaves them there as it pulls back from the land, and they pile up in a jagged ruin that stretches all around the bay at Flekkefjord. When the sun is blazing and the tide is moving at its fastest, you... Continue Reading →
This post is part of the monthly Author Toolbox Blog Hop. Check out other Hop participants' posts to learn about more aspects of writing craft and business, the third Wednesday of each month except for November and December. If we are writers who care about social justice, we have to interrogate our work. How do... Continue Reading →
After graduation, campus changes. Half the students depart, and we are left in a quieter place as the rest of spring unfolds, as the days stretch longer and longer (it's still light at 10:30pm now; I haven't stayed up late enough to check, but I think we have now entered that period of light when... Continue Reading →
Spring keeps burgeoning out. Already the crocuses are a distant memory. Daffodils are fading now. In the woods, anemones and cuckoo flowers are everywhere. In our yard, a volunteer patch of forget me nots has sprung up. I'm used to forget me nots being a beautiful purple-blue, and a few of these are, but many... Continue Reading →
On the first of May this year, Labor Day in Norway and around much of the world, the first-year class took its annual hike up the local mountain, Jarstadheia. The hike took us up 584 meters into thick snow--more than a foot along the top plateau. We formed a winding column of sixty or seventy... Continue Reading →
Good weather has continued with just a couple of rainy days the last two weeks. Temperatures by mid-day have been up in the mid-teens (Celsius). Signs of life are beginning. Buds are pricking the trees. And after a winter hiatus, I've got the Seek app out again, identifying what new plants and animals I can.... Continue Reading →
I post these updates on Words like Trees on Sundays, but I write them on Saturdays. I'm not a procrastinator. It makes me anxious to have things hanging over me. But today, it's Sunday. My post won't have been written yet by the time I normally would have liked it scheduled to appear. The reason... Continue Reading →
Today (and I am writing this on Saturday), shortly after I complete this post, I'm heading off for a very quick trip to Oslo. We're going to see Verdi's opera Un ballo in maschera. It's a tale of murder and splendor, intrigue and drama. I've never seen an opera before. I am ready for a... Continue Reading →
Sending out short story submissions is an endeavor. I devote a number of hours each month to identifying journals that are open for submissions and cataloging where I've sent which story. A new free tool for finding journals has recently come to my attention. Today, let's explore Chill Subs and see how it can help... Continue Reading →
I need to keep today's post short. I'll confess, as time goes on, my posts on Words Like Trees become shorter and shorter. Perhaps this is because I have other writing projects going; I haven't found it easy of late to fit blogging into my writing time. At the end of a two-week break from... Continue Reading →
Two weeks have raced by, and already it's time for another Words Like Trees post. I'm feeling back to normal after covid, today (Saturday) I am on the bus towards Stryn to ski for four days with students. For the first time, I am writing a blog post on my phone. This is my fourth... Continue Reading →
I avoided Covid-19 for nearly three years, but it has finally caught up with me. On Tuesday night, I began feeling a tingle in my throat. Wednesday resembled the beginnings of a cold. My fever began Thursday. It wasn't until Friday, though, when I heard that one of my colleagues had tested positive, that I... Continue Reading →
Words like trees 