Lessons from the Farm 2 – Persistence and Patience

Lessons from the Farm 2 – Persistence and Patience

Sep 12, 2025 | Creative Writing, Farm Life

We chose the hottest weekend in August! Well, it really chose us. After a good two-year run of letting our chickens be free-range until dusk, we were suddenly losing a chicken a day to hawks and other varmints. Our small coop was fine for the nights, but not a long-term solution. They were miserable! So when our 10×30 foot chicken run kit arrived, we knew we had to assemble it ASAP, 95 ⁰F weather notwithstanding.

As with most two-person jobs, one person moves a lot, while the other stands. The stand-a-lot person tends to be me. Poles need to be held in place while screws are tightened. The huge roll of chicken wire mesh needs to be balanced and  pulled taut while someone zip-ties along the length. It wasn’t long before streams of sweat were trickling down every inch of my back and  legs. But we were on a mission—for hours.

A bank of clouds brought relief, but soon turned into a fifteen minute downpour that completely drenched us. As nice as that sounds on a hot day, the resulting humidity when the sun returned felt like being cooked in a pot of spaghetti. But we were on a mission.

We did finish that chicken run. Persistence and patience made for a lot of happy chickens and ducks.

Writing can be a similar task. Coming back to a blank screen day after day isn’t fun. Distractions call us from every direction. It takes persistence to keep throwing ideas onto that page and patience to mix the resulting stew until the story makes sense.

God bless your writing!

Literature and Lattes Conference and Book Fair

Sep 12, 2025 | Creative Writing

I had an amazing time at the Literature and Lattes Writers’ Conference and Book Fair in South Dakota last weekend! Paula and Myja Miller did a fantastic job organizing and hostessing this event. Their warm welcomes made us feel cherished, and their flawless event planning moved everything along smoothly, from presentations and the meet-and-greet through the entire book fair day.

Candice Sue Patterson started things off with an insightful talk on using all five senses to bring your reader into your scenes. From using sounds like a siren to convey urgency to bitter tastes to infer the character’s regret or hardship, she gave us powerful tools to improve our writing. https://candicesuepatterson.com/

Claudia with Paula Miller at the book fair

Claudia meets Katelyn Pfeiffer, her Elk Lake Publishing colleague and writing buddy

It was exciting to finally meet Katelyn Pfeiffer, my Elk Lake Publishing colleague and writing buddy. https://www.instagram.com/provenancechronicles/

As well as sharing a table, where she marketed her “Provenance Chronicles” young adult dystopian series, I had the pleasure of listening to her excellent talk on the legitimate uses of ‘magic’ in Christian literature, as exemplified by J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Madeleine L’Engle. The writer’s goal should be to point to supernatural reality and paint a bright line between God’s authority and the use of supernatural power for evil.

Joel and Esther Ribbey  detailed a methodology for generating a full-time author income using targeted advertising. https://www.jeribbey.com/. Sharon Tweet discussed using dialogue and action beats to flesh out characters and details about the setting. https://sharondtweet.com/. Liz Loham encouraged writing fan fiction to practice craft, pointing out that 10,000 hours of practice are required to achieve mastery of a skill. Fan fiction provides built-in plots, allowing writers to focus on skills, such as humor or atmosphere. https://www.facebook.com/lizlowham/

The meet-and-greet social was a lovely opportunity to meet fellow writers. I especially enjoyed getting to know Brooke Katz, a fellow writer from the area.

The book fair attracted avid readers from the local community, and I had a great time chatting with many of them. One lucky book buyer won the raffle for my cross-stitched Kraken towel. I also got to meet M.N. Stroh, a historical fiction writer who I have followed for years! https://mnstroh.com/

Claudia raffled off her cross-stitched Kraken towel, with one of his Shakespeare quotes, to a lucky winner.

Katelyn, Brooke, and Claudia

Claudia meets M.N. Stroh

Claudia showcases her award-winning  SciFi/Adventure novel, “Fields of Prosperis.”

My Kraken Towel!

My Kraken Towel!

Aug 30, 2025 | Creative Writing, Do It Yourself

I just finished designing and making my latest cross stitch towel. It features Kraken, the beloved Shakespeare-quoting alien from my SciFi/Adventure novel, “Fields of Prosperis, available on Amazon. I backstitched one of his Shakespeare quotes around his figure.

Kraken is a decapod from a distant sandy planet who was stranded in Sector Three with his decapod nanny as a child.

I plan to raffle this towel off to my book purchasers at the Literature and Lattes Writers Conference and Book Fair next weekend in South Dakota. Can’t wait!