Chocolate Truffles by Saralyn Richard Chocolate truffles are round candies made with creamy, chocolate ganache centers and coated with chocolate, cocoa powder, or chopped toasted nuts. They get their name from their resemblance in shape and size to the edible fungi, but that is where the resemblance ends. The first chocolate truffle is rumored […]
Write What You Know by Saralyn Richard Back in the day, there were certain rules a writer had to observe. Show, don’t tell. Always use complete sentences. Write what you know. The logic behind these rules was impeccable, and, all innovation to the contrary, most writers still observe them today, at least most of […]
Two Truths and a Lie by Saralyn Richard When I was a high school administrator, one of my favorite ice-breakers for meetings was the game, Two Truths and a Lie. If you’ve never played it, each person at the table comes up with three facts about herself, one of which is not true. The […]
Art Meets Love and Murder by Saralyn Richard I’m not sure when my fascination with art began. Perhaps it was in seventh grade, when Ms. Gahagan incorporated a fine arts curriculum into our elective class. Many students groaned. They’d taken art class to get away from reading and writing—pounding clay was more satisfying then. But […]
Lessons From My Garden By Saralyn Richard I’ve always loved to plant flowers and vegetables and watch them grow, but never, until now, have I had the time to nurture, weed, water, and admire the horticulture. For all of the things the pandemic has taken away, the joy of gardening is one thing it’s brought […]
Change by Saralyn Richard In my lifetime, I’ve witnessed a multitude of tragic, life-changing events: hurricanes, assassinations, explosions, riots, terrorist activities, and deaths. And now a pandemic and outrageous acts of racism, both of which shake our value systems to their very roots. The phrase, “May you live in interesting times,” often attributed to the […]
The Value (and the Pitfalls) of a Critique Group in These Times by Saralyn Richard At a time when everything seems to have been uprooted, including weddings, graduations, family vacations, classrooms, businesses, and workplaces, the one constant in my calendar has been my writers’ critique group. So what if we can’t meet in person, share […]
Gratitude in the Time of COVID by Saralyn Richard I was rocking along, teaching my creative writing and literature classes, volunteering at the doctor’s office, working on a couple of local boards of directors, and preparing for the launch of my newest mystery, A Palette for Love and Murder. Invitations were out; books were in […]
What Makes Excellent Writing? by Saralyn Richard I’ve taught creative writing off and on for years. It was an elective for upper class students in a large suburban Chicago high school. Part of our curriculum was to produce a literary magazine each year, and we entered our work in a National Council of Teachers of […]