Writer's Fallout Shelter

I carry my little spiral notebook with me to jot down sketches, ideas, observations, a turn of the phrase, most of which end there, but sometimes become more later, I often have both a poem and a story going on in my head and on paper or laptop simultaneously. I do refer to some 'how to' books as guides, especially when I feel stuck.

My guides tend to be genre-specific for things I'm revising or where I feel something's off ~ i.e., Handbook of Short Story Writing, Vol. II, also Writing in General and the Short Story in Particular I'm currently thumbing through while revising a couple short stories. When I feel stuck, I read a bit, then return to edit some more. I also refer to The Poet's Guide to Poetry when I'm working with unfamiliar or novel poetic forms as a guide. And I read for fun what I'd like to one day write for publicaiton ~ mystery, noir, poetry, literary short stories. .

So, reading can be a distraction, or an ersatz editor. As long as it leads me back to my pen, I see reading for me as one guide to ultimate publication.

Keep Writing!
Kate