Barbara Swander Miller

Category: A Writer’s Life

  • You’re not listening!

    You’re not listening!

    What gives? “You asked me what I thought, and now you’re not taking my advice? What’s up with that?”

  • Lessons from a grassy walk

    Dusky, dark blue sky hovers over the wide, tree-edged lawns. Brown, dusty fields fade into the horizon. Honking geese drown out distant city traffic as they fly in packs southward, from where I came. Abbey bells peal across the way, calling the monks to prayer. I step from concrete onto the short-trimmed grass path. It…

  • Searching, again

    “Who are you?” an elderly woman demands as she peers up into my face. I have never met her. A middle-aged man shrugs apologetically, “I should know you, but I forget your name.” I’ve never met him, either. Barely making eye contact, a young person nods at me and shoves a folded paper my way,…

  • Time to percolate

    It’s rare to find a person this time of year who doesn’t enjoy a tall cup of pumpkin spice latte. That rich flavor and aroma are quintessentially fall. Does it matter how it was prepared? French-pressed? Cold Brewed? Maybe poured over for a quick decaf? I love a good cup of coffee regardless of how…

  • Will just being just happen?

    “Do your best. Keep trying until you can do no more. Did you do your best? Then that’s all you can do.” ~Sigh~ The words do more than echo. They are the threads that stitch together my daily life. But I’m getting better at asking for help. Covid did that: Made me stress more, doubt…

  • Writing camp deadline!

    Hats pulled snug down over their curly, straight, blonde, dark, red hair, the writers scratched and scribbled in their notebooks, filling them with graphite and ink, painstakingly selected–or not– most legible, some barely- mapping out worlds on, above, and below where their feet tread. Soon, plots emerged from five squares, mountains, and lines of time…

  • What if your brain never turned off?

    It might result in a book! What if instead of just chillin’, your brain kept running possible scenarios? What if it never stopped asking questions? What if it constantly generated ideas to improve your day, or work, or life? Or someone else’s? My brain is like that. At night, I often toss and turn until…

  • Who are your people? Google them!

    Genealogy has had an oscillating presence in my life.  Sometimes its fan blows straight at me and keeps me cool and comfy; sometimes it blows in another direction, and I just catch a slight waft of the gentle breeze. Over the years, it’s depended on the amount of time I’ve been able to invest in…

  • Call me sparkle toe!

    Even though I’ve  never worn  glittery tops  with letters  that flash my   undeniable   school pride,  and Even though I   loathe finding   tiny flecks   of glitter stuck   to my otherwise    plain shirt   after opening    my craft closet,  and Even though I’ve   been stuck in   the filthy mire   of the news   and its portents   of doom, haunting …

  • A week of reads

    Some Good; Some Not So It was only a week, but it seemed as if I’d been dozing, sneezing, coughing, and bingeing on historical dramas in print and video for forty days and forty nights. Like a baby with its days and nights mixed up, my sleep schedule didn’t help. I drifted in and out…