After a lengthy writing sabbatical, during which I avoided the process for fear I'd disappoint myself, I finally realized that writing is like playing an instrument: I didn't practice the piano daily because I dreamed of being a concert pianist; I practiced because I loved it and wanted to improve. That's where I am with my writing: an avid, daily practicer. I am focused now on short stories but have a large collection of non-fiction stories about parenting and have dabbled in poetry (which clearly means that I am NOT a poet--just a lover of words). I wrote professionally for 16 years: for the first three years, wrote training manuals for a healthcare company and for the next 13, wrote feature articles for an in-house trade journal (IT managers as audience). Prior to that, I taught college writing for about three years. More recently, I wrote for a now defunct blog (Momicillin), and now manage my own home improvement blog (WingingItwithLinda.com).