Here you’ll find some of the craft and writing tips that have been shared over my years of editing and teaching writing.
Published
My story, "Wild Animal," is now available in Storm Cellar. Love this cover! Get your copy (print, PDF, e-reader) here. Would you think me less dignified if I admit to doing my happy dance right now?
AWP 2013
We writers lead the solitary life, slaving over character motivation and semi-colons in our dark monastic cells. But once a year we emerge, stretch the kinks out of our writing hands, straighten the writer’s hunch-back, and convene at AWP (the Association of Writers...
Red Bird Chapbooks
That's right folks, chapbooks aren't just for poetry any more! Red Bird Chapbooks is an incredible cottage industry press that is growing fast, and I am really really excited to be the new Fiction Editor. I expect great things to happen with this press and you...
Publication
An acceptance is always a happy occasion, and I am happy to report that my story, "Wild Animal" will appear in a forthcoming issue of Storm Cellar Quarterly! They describe themselves this way: Based in Champaign, IL. The people behind Storm Cellar are fucking serious....
Writing in –isms
I recently wrote on a manuscript, “Is all this realism necessary? I feel like it’s too much information, too many details. What about writing it as impressionism or expressionism?” Scott loves Impressionism. He’s always talking about light. You know, Rembrandt...
Pixie Stix or Carob Chips
I don’t read genre, but you can find it in my home. I have a fourteen-year-old who brings plenty of it into the house. She slips it in, wedged between her schoolwork. That’s right, my own daughter is trafficking in fantasy, sci-fi, and paranormal romance right under...
Historical Fiction: Research
I have two historical novels under my belt. Saving Annabelle is ready to go out into the world, and I am querying agents now. God’s Mirror is being expanded and revised. I also have the outline and some sketches for the next novel, which happens to be historical as...
Pants on Fire
I had a wonderful time at my writers group today. I have a wonderful time whenever we meet. There are three of us at present: Wendy, Susan, and me. We’re all Hamliners. We’re all fiction writers. We’re all dead serious about writing. We call our little troupe Pants on...
The Writing Life
I’ve been thinking about point of view a lot lately when I’m not thinking about this dog. Right now, Seva is next to my chair, chin level with my lap, gaze lifted because in the service dog world, eye contact is rewarded. She wants Joe’s Os. The problem is if I type...
After the MFA
On May 19, 2012, I graduated from Hamline University with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. What a writer does after completing an MFA program, depends, of course, on the writer. I have friends and colleagues who are—let’s assume everyone is writing or trying...
I'm Alida
I help people express their gifts to the world.
I do not believe in formulas. I believe that the stories we are compelled to tell the world make demands on us, and it is our privilege to meet those demands in order to reach the most people in the most authentic and compelling way possible.
