• About

Renee Writes Now!

~ Observations from a Writer-in-Residence

Renee Writes Now!

Tag Archives: Brain

Renee interviews author Pat Stanford

16 Tuesday Oct 2018

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

author, Brain, Family, Health, inspiration, Life, writing

CoverPic

Pat wrote about her sister in Fixing Boo Boo: A Story of Traumatic Brain Injury, which won a gold medal in the Florida Authors and Publishers President’s Book Awards. It’s an inspiring story of one family and the struggles they face when a sibling with a brain injury comes to live with them. Sadly, Pat’s experience resonates with nearly 9,000 families in Florida, who devote their lives to caring for brain-injured loved ones every year.

Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now, education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we should know about.
I was born in Philadelphia, simply because that was the nearest hospital to my father’s farm in New Jersey. When I was a year old, my father and grandfather bought land in south Florida, wanting to farm year-round, so I grew up in the town of Delray Beach, which is now quite the artist’s colony. After two years at Palm Beach Community College, I transferred to Florida State University, where I received my B.S. in Secondary Education, a degree I never used, since I ran off and joined the Air Force.
Most people don’t realize that I cut my teeth, so to speak, on writing poetry which I have been doing pretty much since I could hold a pencil. This came naturally enough since my mother wrote little ditties and sometimes serious poems in a little “write in book” that had blank pages. I will have a collection of mine published by year’s end.

What inspired you to write this book? What is the story behind the story?
After my sister passed away in 2012, I was left with notes that every caregiver most likely keeps. These are lists of medications, who you spoke to and when, emails back and forth between my husband and me, and between doctors’ offices and both of us. Then there was the saved information for just about anything that could and probably would eventually have to be dealt with. In cleaning out my computer files, I was going to delete them, but then really started looking through them and thought maybe someone else could benefit from them. I started organizing them into a timeline of sorts and thought I’d write a memoir about my experience with brain injury. My critique group wanted dialogue “to move the story along” and after arguing with them that that would make it fiction, my creative non-fiction book was born.

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?
The biggest challenge was thinking “Why am I doing this? Boy, this is stupid – no one is going to read this thing.” Well, apparently, there are people who were helped because I get comments at festivals and signings, thanking me for writing something they cannot do and that is to let others know they aren’t alone in their struggle. So basically, my biggest challenge was…me!

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?
That would have to be when I received the gold medal at the Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s Book Awards. I thought I would get the bronze, but someone else’s name was announced. I was in shock when the silver medal was announced and it wasn’t me. I looked at a friend at the dinner table with a sort of silent scream because I knew I had the gold. Talk about taking doubts away about writing ability!

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?
I love all books and – both fiction and nonfiction. I try to read at least 60 books a year and track it on Goodreads. Nonfiction include “technique books” for improving writing skills and then I also read biographies. I am currently reading the biographies of all the presidents in order. Being a Civil War nut, I also like almost anything written on that subject.
Fiction I like to read is more of the Action-Adventure type – think Clive Cussler – and that is what I will want to write when I am finished with the follow-up to Fixing Boo Boo.

Do you write every single day? Any writing rituals?
Ummmm…I write most days. I tend to binge read and then binge write. I don’t have any rituals aside from always having a little notebook with me, just in case a thought strikes me.

What are your interests outside of writing?
I have a rose garden I tend to when it isn’t so blazing hot. My husband and I have a boat that we take out in Apalachee Bay for fishing and sometimes snorkeling for scallops, reading (duh), art museums, which sometimes inspires me to draw and paint, something I used to do a lot more of. I used to be OCD about cleaning, but this writing thing has pretty much cured that.

Share some tips for other Authors or Aspiring Authors: What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.
What I’d do differently – Not waste as much time thinking that what I write isn’t good enough and just write better, using some sort of guideline. While I’m not an outline kind of girl, if I had something more than the timeline in place, it would have helped. Also, I would have studied what to do before the book was published – what marketing works and what doesn’t. Do some advance work like social media marketing, creating a buzz about it and then, what to do after the book was published. I had no idea that I’d be putting myself out there one on one and talking to people. But, I can tell you, having been an insurance agent, I would have to say this is easier and a LOT more fun!
What I’d do the same – I was writing for a specific audience and they are getting the message, but others are also finding out what it was like living with a brain-injured person.
I would also still have a critique group – these people were the reason my manuscript ever got finished. Not only were they expecting me to write, they gave me (mostly) positive criticism about what did and didn’t work.

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers. To suggest an author interview, email her: rgarrison@bestversionmedia.com

Remember this!

18 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Brain, Community, Family, Memories

Fist
Need to remember your shopping list at the store? Clench your right fist for about 90 seconds before memorizing it. Then, when you get to the store, clench your left fist to recall the items.

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But a new study out of Montclair State University in New Jersey suggests fist-clenching activates brain regions associated with memory formation, and a right-left sequence worked best.

Why have I been using “Post-it” notes all these years, when the answer was right in my hand — or rather, my fist?

Have you found anything else that works?

The Author

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 658 other followers

The Award-Winning Book

Recent Posts

  • Good for the environment
  • Having Books at Home
  • Renee Interviews Author Kathryn Knight
  • Party Manners
  • Just like Carrie Bradshaw

Archives

  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • May 2015
  • March 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012

Favorite Things

aging Architecture artistic pieces arts author Awards book Book Expo. author books Build business children Christmas clothing Community Construction Conversation creativity Design Dreams dress code entertainment environment Family fashion Florida Florida architecture food Gardens Health history Holiday Home Homeowner Homes Houses Housewarming Humor inspiration kitchen Life lifestyle literature love Memorial Day Memories mood Mother Mother's Day motherhood Moving nature New Home New York Fashion Week Preservation publishers read real-estate relationships Religion Residence school Sept. 11 Shelter style Support teenagers Thanksgiving transportation travel vacation wardrobe wedding Writer writing

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Categories

  • Dementia
  • Teens Read
  • Uncategorized

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Renee Writes Now!
    • Join 658 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Renee Writes Now!
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...