Tag: writing

AN ODE TO THE BEST HOUSE ON THE BLOCK

Nurses who make home visits will be able to relate to this. I scan houses I would like to visit—to see not only who lives in them but how they live. What health problems or social issues would I have to address? I took a picture of this house on the west side of Chicago…… Continue reading AN ODE TO THE BEST HOUSE ON THE BLOCK

MOUNTAIN MAN: A NURSING STORY

I graduated from nursing school fifty years ago this month. I still remember this man. The long, dark hall stretched out in front of me. It was eleven-thirty in the evening, close to the end of my shift. The thick soles of my Red Cross shoes silenced my step as I checked each room on…… Continue reading MOUNTAIN MAN: A NURSING STORY

WHAT DOES PEA SOUP HAVE TO DO WITH WRITING?

It’s a soup day. Well, okay, it’s 76 degrees outside on this August morning in Chapel Hill but it’s dark and dreary. The sound of the rain hitting the roof makes me think of soup. Thoughts of the warm aroma of Grandma’s bean soup and the sweet, earthy taste of Mom’s chicken soup, made with the…… Continue reading WHAT DOES PEA SOUP HAVE TO DO WITH WRITING?

THE WEIRDEST HOME VISIT

When I worked in the home care program at a VA hospital in Illinois, medical students sometimes came along with us nurse practitioners while we made our visits. I enjoyed showing them the reality of delivering care in the patient’s home—where we were guests—the subtle line between suggestion and decree, education and instruction, doing for…… Continue reading THE WEIRDEST HOME VISIT

THE AGONY OF EDITING

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to be doing edits to my manuscript—finally. Especially after spending years writing and rewriting and changing and revising, making chapter four chapter one and later dropping chapter one altogether and replacing it with what was once chapter one in 2006. So clearly I’m in the home stretch. However, I…… Continue reading THE AGONY OF EDITING

NURSES REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Betsy, a writer friend, emailed me the story she had read in our workshop since I had to miss the class. She knows I hang on every episode of her life in Ireland where her second child was born and she negotiated the daily vicissitudes of a different culture. In this episode she had left…… Continue reading NURSES REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE

BE GOOD TO YOUR READER

I took Stein with me to Monkey Joe’s and settled into a black leather vibrating chair in an area devoted to parents, grandparents and other responsible adults while the men’s semi-finals at Wimbledon played on one TV screen and some guys tossed a basketball on the other. My three grandsons scampered towards the inflated jumpy…… Continue reading BE GOOD TO YOUR READER

MY FAVORITE BOOKS ON WRITING

I go back every once in a while and reread the books that have always rewarded me with inspiration and encouragement. Especially now as I’m completing my book and can almost see a glimmer of light flickering at the end of the tunnel, I find I need that boost, the reassurance my work is not…… Continue reading MY FAVORITE BOOKS ON WRITING

MEETING GOALS

meeting goals

I’ve written about getting this book done so a draft will be finished by September first. (Post: Time To Get Serious). I’ve listed goals to be accomplished by the end of each month. I only have to tweak one story to meet my target for April and since there is one more day in April,…… Continue reading MEETING GOALS