Tag Archives: writing

This Is Covid

Posted on March 29, 2021 by PB Rippey

Yes, but I’m the one who wears a mask to walk the dogs, herding them across the street to avoid oncoming pedestrians (who are never masked); the one who won’t powerwalk with mom friends (who are never masked); who will … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2021, Alexa, cats, Covid fever, COVID-19, Sam Neill, writing | 5 Comments

SCBWI Events

Posted on March 15, 2021 by PB Rippey

A bright light in #stayhomestaysafe is being made aware (thanks to my SCBWI regional newsletter) of SCBWI regional events around the USA. Here are a couple I’m registered for: Austin, TX Webinar: To Plot or Not? , Tuesday 3/16 with … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2021, fiction writing, Jennifer Swanson, kidlit, middle grade writing, Newbery Awards, non-fiction writing, SCBWI, SCBWI-Los Angeles, Solve It!, STEMTeamBooks, The Night Diaries, Veera Hiranandani, writing | Leave a comment

SCBWI Winter Conference

Posted on February 21, 2021 by PB Rippey

I’m “here”! Full day today. Especially looking forward to the agent panel. Also have made new Twitter friends. Will be phenomenal to attend in real life one day. Yours in info dumps,PB

Posted in Writing | Tagged #fictionwriting, #kidlit, #NY21SCBWI, #SCBWI, 2021, Childrens Literature, fiction writing, writing | Leave a comment

Revising Is Writing

Posted on February 10, 2021 by PB Rippey

That’s it. That’s the post. Revising. Is. Writing. Also: When I remember that revising IS writing? It’s like I’ve downed a small shot glass of caffeine. Or at least an Americano. Pen, fingers liven up. In conclusion: Here is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2021, Black cats, fiction writing, stay healthy, stay safe, stay strong 2021, wear a mask, writers block, writing, writing fiction, writing woes | Leave a comment

Aaaand: Christmas!

Posted on December 25, 2020 by PB Rippey

Countdown over! A certain teen is happy about this. The cats could care less.The dog just wants to be loved and wants us to pretend he is tiny enoughto fit in our laps. Not. May your days be merry and … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #christmas2020, #christmascats, #stayhome #wearamask, #staysafe, 2020, California Christmas, Christmas Day 2020, Joyeaux Noel, Pets, writing | Leave a comment

Relief Is Palpable (BIDEN/HARRIS2020 WIN EDITION)

Posted on November 9, 2020 by PB Rippey

“Dogs and cats living together!”–Ghostbusters

Posted in Writing | Tagged #quarantinelife, #staysafe, 2020, Biden/Harris 2020, Black cats, faction, Golden Labs, Harmony2020, Pets, Stay home, StayStrong2020, writing, writing fiction | Leave a comment

Heat

Posted on August 31, 2020 by PB Rippey

I don’t know about your environs, but ours will be blessed with consecutive days of triple digit heat, again, later this week. It’s helpful for my psyche and staving off writer’s block to remember that last year at this time … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing, Writing Progress | Tagged 2020, books, Calif heatwave, Earth, Facebook, Family, Health, Heather Cox RIchardson, humanity, hurricane, Instagram, Jill the squirrel, Julia CHild, life, Rachel Cargle, squirrels, The Joy of Cooking, Valencia, Vote2020, writing | Leave a comment

It Happens

Posted on July 25, 2020 by PB Rippey

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2020, books, faction, fiction writing, Jaws, life, Literature, Sharks, writer's block, writing, WTF | 1 Comment

Morning Essentials

Posted on May 15, 2020 by PB Rippey

6:28a.m. 2 minutes until I need to fill the dogs’ bowls with food, walk them, walk myself for 2.43 miles, feed the tween (I like doing this), review his academic schedule from Google Classroom (Just make a list! But Mom. … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #quarantinelife, #staysafe, 2020, COVID-19, Quarantine, Stay home, stay safe, writing | Leave a comment

Spring Heralds

Posted on May 5, 2020 by PB Rippey

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” ― Anne Bradstreet

Posted in Poetry, Writing | Tagged 2020, Anne Bradstreet, art, books, covid19, hope, Inspiration, life, Literature, poetry, Poetry in a dark time, Poppies, Spring quotes, writing | Leave a comment

Poem for the Last Day of April

Posted on April 30, 2020 by PB Rippey

And just like that, poetry month is at an end, but Tracy K. Smith will still send us a poem each weekday via The Slowdown, or we can visit the site and listen to her read and perhaps we’ll springboard into: … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2020, April Poetry Month, books, Inspiration, Literature, poetry, spring, The Slowdown, Tracy K Smith, wild birds, writing | Leave a comment

April Poem

Posted on April 15, 2020 by PB Rippey

I post this poem every spring. From my chapbook Nightmares With Moons (Pudding House Press). Happy Stay-At-Home-Wednesday. Full Flower Moon May (mostly), the petticoat swirl of rising pink meadow, petite showers, buds. I say: rose, peony, phlox. And I say: petal- shorn, … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Writing | Tagged 2020, April poetry, books, covid19, full flower moon, full moon, full pink moon, life, poetry, poetry chapbooks, Poetry Month, Pudding Houe Press, spring poetry, writing | Leave a comment

Never Forget (Fav Coffee Mug Edition)

Posted on April 9, 2020 by PB Rippey

Yours in coping, PB

Posted in Writing | Tagged #stayhome, #staysafe, 2020, books, coffee, coping, covid19, faction, fiction, Inspiration, life, Self-quarantine, survival, writing | Leave a comment

STARTING NOW

Posted on December 13, 2019 by PB Rippey

I mean, why wait? W.R.I.T.I.N.G.

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2019, 2020, art, books, happy new year, Inspiration, Let it snow, life, Literature, Middle Grade Fiction, middle grade writing, Resolutions, Thanks, Wow, writer, writing | 1 Comment

O First Pages (Retreat Edition)

Posted on November 8, 2019 by PB Rippey

The last event of the SCBWI Working Writer’s retreat consisted of 3 minutes allotted to each attendee to read aloud their first page of a manuscript. Professional critique was squeezed into that 3 minutes from a panel comprised of 4 … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2019, books, Cornelia Funke, E. Nesbit, First pages, Gary Schmidt, kidlit, life, Literature, Middle Grade Fiction, Philip Pullman, Rebecca Stead, Roal Dahl, SCBWI, SCBWI Working Writers Retreat, writing, Writing retreats | 3 Comments

O JOKE! (Popsicle Stick Edition)

Posted on October 24, 2019 by PB Rippey

And here is a popsicle stick I recently uncovered. In all my many now-I’m-older-than-absolutely-everyone-even-Paul-Rudd years, I had no idea such joke sticks existed. Very nice! As long as it’s just a joke and not a fortune. 🙂

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, Children's Books, Writing | Tagged 2019, books, Fortune telling, good jokes, Literature, Paul Rudd, poetry, popsicles, Wow, writing | Leave a comment

Death & Reckonings

Posted on July 23, 2019 by PB Rippey

I’m told change can’t arrive without grief. ‘Change’ was my middle name when I was a child. I begged for change. It fueled my drive for: self-preservation, better school grades, to hunt for goals my parents lectured me were good … Continue reading →

Posted in Faction, Fiction, Writing | Tagged 2019, Childhood, Death, death of a parent, dreams, grief, memoir, mothers, reckonings, writing | Leave a comment

Window Out Of Revision

Posted on March 29, 2019 by PB Rippey

As I continue revising, it’s good to take breaks, even if only for a few minutes, as you probably know. If I’m working in a Starbucks or a library, I bring up pictures on my laptop that are gaze-inducing and … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2019, beach, fiction writing, Inspiration, middle grade writing, poetry, revision, Santa Barbara, writing | Leave a comment

Rain Or Shine: Strike On

Posted on January 17, 2019 by PB Rippey

A couple of weeks before the strike, I was John Snow: I knew nothing. There are always excuses I can credit a busy mother. But everyone is busy. I simply wish I had paid any attention to events leading up … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Children's Books, Poetry, Writing | Tagged 2019, art, Beutner, books, Caputo-Pearl, Family, humanity, Inspiration, life, Teachers strike, UTLA, UTLA Strike, writing | Leave a comment

~2019~

Posted on January 1, 2019 by PB Rippey

May the year be merry and bright and productive. And may I acquire a new laptop. And definitely completion of the current novel and definitely long before the end of this shiny new year. And may I continue to exercise … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Books, Fiction, Writing | Tagged 2019, beaches, books, creativity, dreams, happy new year, Inspiration, kidlit, life, Middle Grade Fiction, writing | 4 Comments

Ho!

Posted on December 18, 2018 by PB Rippey

Busy keeping my butt in a seat this week before Christmas (see everything Anne Lamott has ever written about the writing process). My son is under-the-weather, and while his feeling sick is not great, we are taking advantage of the … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Children's Books, Faction, Me and Us, ocean related, Writing | Tagged 2018, Anne Lamott, beach, books, Christmas 2018, Christmas crackers, Family, glee, Literature, Middle Grade Fiction, stupid slippers, tamales, writing | Leave a comment

Hunting

Posted on October 29, 2018 by PB Rippey

230am, the dog’s nose a wet Q-tip on my ear, his drunk-carny’s breath. I rise, stumble to the patio door, let him out. Waiting, I realize my right foot is wet. I panic: blood? Cat vomit. I stumble to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, books, Fiction, Writing | Tagged 2018, bad guys, books, cats, chocolate chip pancakes, coffee, Dogs, domestics, faction, Family, fiction, insomnia, Inspiration, life, Literature, Mary Louise Parker, poetry, Tarantino, Tom Selleck, writing, WTF | Leave a comment

Dav Pilkey in Redondo Beach

Posted on October 23, 2018 by PB Rippey

Whenever it was tickets first went on sale for this event? Stayed up until 12:01a.m. so that I could be one of the first to nab them. Can I just say–I’m glad I was a night owl as the event … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Children's Books, Fiction, middle grade, Writing | Tagged animals, books, Captain Underpants, Dav Pilkey, Dog Man books, Family, Inspiration, kidlit, Literature, middle grade novels, movies, Redondo Beach, Thanks, writing | 3 Comments

O Europa!

Posted on October 10, 2018 by PB Rippey

Volunteering at my son’s school library means I get to help kids discover books they didn’t even know they wanted to read–and also means I can check out books without exceeding my son’s 5th grade (3 books per student) limit. … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2018, 5th rade, books, Earth, Europa, Family, history, Jupiter, kidlit, life, Literature, moons, movies, planets, school library, Solar system, Space, writing | 1 Comment

The Sequel Begins

Posted on September 15, 2018 by PB Rippey

My novel is completed (as previously blog-blurted) and sent to the interested party. And now I wait. Sort of. I’m halfway through writing chapter two of the sequel. My husband read chapter one aloud to our son at bedtime the … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Books, Writing | Tagged 2018, 5th grade, animals, beach, books, children, Children's Books, children's literature, Family, middle grade novels, ocean, Pets, santa monica, writing, writing a sequel | 2 Comments