The Goodjelly Blog

On the Eye and the Ray

Mar 28, 2022

By Christine Carron

I had been living in the small studio apartment on Rue de Bremondis in Aix-en-Provence for a week. Madame Leyssieux was my landlady. A lovely woman who kindly agreed to let me parrot her in attempt to improve my French pronunciation and vocabulary. Each one of our early...

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On The Particulars of Preliminaries

Mar 21, 2022

By Christine Carron

There I was. In a writing workshop with seven other writers. We had completed a writing prompt a moment ago. The workshop leader called on me to read and instead of reading the prompt, I launched into an . . . I don’t know what. 

Apology? Explanation? Plea to the...

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On Inner Critic Love

Mar 14, 2022

By Christine Carron

It’s true. An active Inner Critic can wreak havoc on our writerly adventure. She* might keep us from sharing our work. It’s so not good enough! Seriously. Total dog doo-doo writing. . . . 

Or stop us from taking classes that will help us grow as writers. What...

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On Your Author Website Content

Mar 07, 2022

By Christine Carron

I have worked on software development projects for over twenty-five years. First as a business analyst, then as a project manager. There are many moving pieces involved in building a website that satisfies (and ideally exceeds) a client’s expectations, but the one I...

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On Yin Virtue

Feb 28, 2022

By Christine Carron

Have you ever noticed how much there is to do on the writing adventure? Learn how to write whatever it is you want to write. Write. Learn how to revise. Revise. Learn how to critique. Find a critique group. Learn how to keep your equilibrium while being critiqued. Write....

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On Creating Consistent Writerly Output

Feb 21, 2022

By Christine Carron

Imagine your favorite novel. Now imagine that same novel with no chapter indicators or chapter breaks, no indentations at the beginning of paragraphs, no line breaks at the end of paragraphs, no capitalization to begin sentences, and no punctuation to end them. Just one...

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On Aspects of Grit

Feb 14, 2022

By Christine Carron

slog: to plod (one's way) perseveringly, especially against difficulty
agog: full of intense interest or excitement; full of wonder or surprise
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From the age of ten to fourteen, I was a member of the Saint Louis Civic Ballet. It was a seminal experience of my...

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On Solving for Pie

Feb 07, 2022

By Christine Carron

How can I make it easy? This question is my current obsession in relation to my writing—both novels and blog posts. And since I also love pie, I'm going for full cliché easy-as-pie easy. 

Years ago, I read a book by Marshall Goldsmith called What Got You...

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On the Importance of Being Awkward

Jan 31, 2022

By Christine Carron

Once upon a time I was brought in to lead a team-building workshop with a research group that was having challenges with communication, trust, and collaboration. The opening exercise of the workshop was one that pretty much any adult who has taken any workshop or class has...

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On Wonder's Clear-Eyed Vision

Jan 24, 2022

By Christine Carron

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A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood. If I had...

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