Conversations with Jessica, illustrated
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Bad words, revisited
So Jessica comes home to tell me about a new student who is learning boundaries. Me: Tell your teacher if he’s too much of an ass. Jessica: I will, except I won’t call him an a-s-s. Me: Probably wise. Jessica: Did you use bad language at school? Me: Not in front of anyone who would…
On the Importance of Having a Skill Set
We are driving around running errands. Jessica is listening to me sigh as the traffic is funneled down to one lane and goes slowly. Me: They’re doing so much road construction! Maybe they should finish one project before they start another, you know? Jess: They are building bridges in Kansas City. I saw them with…
Conversations with Jessica
More Conversations with Jessica! ### Dojo Wisdom for Writers, second edition, now available! Catch a Falling Star (by Jessica Starre) and The Matchmaker Meets Her Match (by Jenny Jacobs), two of my favorite novels. And don’t forget classes for writers—and more on writing at BeYourOwnBookDoctor.com
On Not Being Normal
“I’m not normal,” Jessica says matter-of-factly. “I am not like other children.” We are at Wheatfield’s, having a snack. This is one of her favorite places to ambush me with questions about why her life is the way it is. You’d think I’d get a clue and start saying, No, not Wheatfield’s! But I don’t….
On what I’m working on
I’m working on a novel in a genre that’s new to me and it’s not going well partly because I don’t know what I’m doing (see “genre that’s new to me”) and partly because Jess is back at school and isn’t here to keep me off Facebook during the workday. Jess: What did you…
On celebrating Halloween
“I would like a skull for Halloween,” Jessica says to me. A skull? This from the queen of pink, sparkling Halloween decorations? “And the ‘Beware’ sign.” She points at a black sign with ravens perched on it. What happened to the cheerful light-up pumpkins and the adorable little black cats and the plump smiling ghosts…