Susan Palmer's Exquisite Now

Stuff gets done here

recent posts

Category: creativity

  • Emotional diversity and resilience

    On our morning walk, Craig and I passed this cotoneaster, its red berries the brightest thing around on an otherwise rainy low-cloud-ceiling day. It buoyed my spirits which had been busy with gloom-of-winter thoughts. I noticed this emotional divergence — gloom vs. pleasure — having just listened to a “Hidden Brain” podcast about emotional resilience…

  • Weekend rabbit hole

    Searching online for some inspiration from author Kurt Vonnegut, I stumbled on an intriguing website. But first, here’s the quote — an exchange between characters in the novel “Cat’s Cradle.” “Self-taught, are you?” Julian Castle asked Newt.“Isn’t everybody?” Newt inquired.“Very good answer.” I found this in a short list of Vonnegut quotes put together by…

  • First time for everything

    I’ve written a few novels (OK, four), had one published, but I’ve never written an actual synopsis of any of my novels. I’ve written dozens of query letters, sure. But I had a mental block against writing a 500-word condensation of my 80,000-word work product. That’s a problem because about half the hundreds of agents…