<p>Just in time for Halloween, I share a trick and treat designed to get writers writing (and having fun) in spite of work/life demands.</p>

<p>Within these pages, I encountered something I doubt I&#8217;ve seen in any other children&#8217;s book; something I never though I&#8217;d run across; something so shocking, I almost didn&#8217;t write this post.</p>

<p>The challenge: 105,000 spoken words. 110 unique voices. Can I pull it off?</p>

<p>The bear track halted my run. It and a string of identical cousins imprinted the sandy trail ahead of me. If I paid no attention to the crescent moons pressed by the claws, the tracks resembled a child&#8217;s delicate footprint. Rounded, plump indents. Chubby toes. The cherubic tread traveled north on the trail, the same&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2018/11/21/my-bearings/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">My Bearings</span></

<p>A five-week beginner meditation class? Right now? In the middle of letting go…processing loss&#8230;the death of my wildest dreams? Yes, please! For the first class, I and fifty other beginners settled on the zafu cushions at the local Dharma Center and listened to the instructor’s lectures on mindfulness, the Four Noble Truths, accepting the inevitability&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2018/04/19/when-words-breathe/">Continue reading <span class

<p>Gearing up to see Al Gore&#8217;s return in An Inconvenient Sequel? Be sure to add some good mental trail mix to your rucksack. Childs, Craig. Apocalyptic Planet: Field Guide to the Future of Earth. New York: Vintage, 2012. Print. Genre: narrative nonfiction Summary: Craig Childs travels around the world to showcase the impacts of climate&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/07/25/apocalyptic-planet-by-craig-childs/">Continue reading <span class="

<p>The little girl was mean. She enjoyed being mean. She cussed. She picked fights. She bossed adults around. She was everything a girl is not supposed to be. Girls are supposed to be sugar and spice and everything nice, but this child? Zero grams sugar. Absolutely nothing nice. Spice factor? 100% cayenne pepper. I&#8217;m talking&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/06/28/bad-girls-in-the-new-age-of-wonder-woman/">Continue reading <span class="scree

<p>Chef&#8217;s Table. Produced by David Gelb, Andrew Fried, et al. Boardwalk Pictures, City Room Creative, FINCH, 2015. Genre: docuseries (cooking&#8230;and so much more) Summary:The promoters and producers would have you believe that every episode of Chef&#8217;s Table profiles one of the world&#8217;s leading chefs for 45-55 minutes accompanied with pleasurably slow, sensuous, sumptuous shots of&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/01/05/chefs-tab

<p>Let&#8217;s play a game! A what-if guessing game. What if all your dreams came true in the New Year? What if, instead, your worst nightmares actually happened? What is something you&#8217;d never imagine befalling you and what if that very thing occurred? I know. I know. The zen-ists find it terribly unfashionable to play such&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/12/30/the-pinball-plot/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">The Pinbal

<p>Strayed, Cheryl. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. New York: Vintage Books, 2013. Print. Genre: memoir (specifically, one of those young-woman-in-crisis-goes-a&#8217;-traveling memoirs) Summary: This book is Eat, Pray, Love meets A Walk in the Woods. Despite a mostly impoverished, sometimes rough childhood, Cheryl grew up generally loved by everyone but herself. Soon after&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/12/14/wild-by-chery

<p>When the Sharks Gather: How Rituals Can Make Us Better Writers Before I write, there&#8217;s this little thing that I do. Call it a ritual. I do it the same way every time. And according to neuroscience research, my little ritual is actually priming my brain to deliver a focused and confident writing session. Here&#8217;s&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/06/03/when-the-sharks-gather/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">When the