Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Back to School

  • Making progress, one word at a time…

    The moment comes when a character does or says something you hadn't thought about. At that moment he's alive and you leave it to him. (Graham Greene, Advice to Writers) No, I'm not at that point yet. But the words are coming quicker…I can close my eyes and pull the world of my story around…

  • “Every Step I’m Taking…”

    I'm a fifty-year-old, perimenopausal woman, clinging stubbornly to decades-old dreams of finishing college and making a living as a full-time writer. Imagine my surprise when I heard a song on the radio that seemed to express all of the jumbled emotions many women (and probably men) my age are feeling - disappointment, discouragement, determination, joy and hope – and…

  • Playing Teacher. And Student.

    My first class is behind me, thank goodness. I really didn't know what to expect, even though I'm the teacher as well as the student. Actually, I didn't know what to expect because the teacher-me still hadn't quite figured out how it should go… Should I spend the entire time writing? If so, how much…

  • Finding the Right Balance

    Something about the start of a new school year always fires me up - I find myself making resolutions, setting goals, and getting organized as if it were New Year's Eve!  I think about starting projects that have been pushed from season to season and ultimately ignored all year, as if I have to get them done right NOW! Maybe it's leftover…

  • “…as it should be.”

    TG is really and truly a college student now, surrounded with college and all things college-related. By the time I got home from work yesterday, she had her things packed and ready to go. She had even tidied up her bedroom! Daniel and his friend Austin met us at her dorm and helped us get her…

  • Uncertain Skies…Reminders of a Year in the Life

    "Barbara Inez…just what have you been up to? I mean I've already been gone a week and I'm sure a lot has happened…"  "…Barb, I hope you get your tail in gear and get up here to see me. It's just beautiful…"  "I've always loved that song "You've got a friend" by Carol King and…

  • A Texas Night…Stories and Music Under the Stars

        Using my cell phone as a flashlight, Tom and I followed a dirt trail through oaks and junipers. A string of lights blinked at us through the boughs – a beacon in the darkness. I couldn't believe we forgot a flashlight. Or that I had worn my flip-flops. But we still worked our way up the steep rocky…

  • Not Quite a Screenplay, but…

            …it's more than I had at the beginning of the semester. What I turned in last night resembles a screenplay in the same way a lump of clay resembles a sculpture; I still have a LOT of work ahead of me. But…I did it. I twisted and tucked and pruned my great-great grandfather's experiences into a…

  • Texas, 1850 to 1920…

      …give or take a few years. That's where I'll be the next two weeks, if anyone is looking for me. My screenplay deadline is growing large…and hairy…with fangs dripping blood…and huge sharp claws…and…okay, that's enough. But it is starting to resemble a gigantic monster that can only be appeased by (many) more pages of screenplay…

  • Does it seem foggy in here to you?

        Okay, this morning I realized I'm too old (that's right, I said it!) to function for very long without adequate sleep. Theoretically, it seems like a great idea, and it's worked for me in the past: skimp on sleep, use the extra hours to write or take care of whatever else is screaming for attention at…