On Writing – Page 2 – Catherine Greenfeder

Write Despite the Setbacks

By Catherine • August 15, 2025

Sunrise as seen from the top deck on the Viking Polaris.

As a writer, I keep open to story ideas and pack a travel notebook. Sometimes it’s a quick write about the day’s adventures, the places visited, the foods sampled, and the people that I met along the way. More recently, I took a trip aboard one of the Viking expedition ships, the Polaris, for the sail on the Great Lakes which covered all five of the lakes. We started with Lake Ontario, sailed on to Lake Erie, then Lake Huron, then Lake Michigan, and ended in Lake Superior.

The tour proved beyond exceptional.

We visited the Canadian side of Niagara Falls; the Henry Ford Museum in the “motor city” of Detroit; Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers in Wisconsin; the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio; Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada; several other ports along the way. All very memorable.

an exhibit on early automobiles at the Henry Ford Museum, Detroit, Michigan

However, as much as I enjoyed the cruise, I experienced a setback. During my visit to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan, the quaint setting for the 1980 fantasy romance movie Somewhere in Time featuring Christoper Reeve and Jane Seymour, I enjoyed a buffet luncheon with fellow passengers. Then I went up to the fourth floor to get an overlook view of the island. On the way down, I missed a step and took a tumble at the bottom. In immediate pain from the fall, I had to be brought back to a tender boat and then onto the larger cruising vessel. What began as smooth sailing, ended up with my staying onboard the main ship until the last port in Duluth, Minnesota.

Not much fun! Despite that, I found so much warmth and concern from fellow passengers and the crew of the vessel. The onboard medical center provided excellent care and follow-up for my injury. Even the ship’s captain came by to ask how I was doing!

Staircase where I took a tumble onto the lobby of the Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan

I remembered how sometimes the best plans get waylaid. Life is that way! To paraphrase a saying, “we mortals make plans, and the gods laugh”.

The Grand Hotel, piano area, Mackinac Island

I’m writing again, nevertheless, using my trip, pun intended, to journal, to blog, and to recall the good times I have had despite the setbacks.

In my lifetime, I have had losses. Some are harder than others to take. However, I’ve often found that writing has helped me get through it. There is something cathartic in it. As someone who enjoys writing fiction, there may even be ideas for stories.

Women Mentoring Women

By Catherine • March 26, 2025

Soothing and nutritious!

March is Women’s History Month, a time to remember all the women who helped us, who served their country, and who gave so much of themselves. Reflecting on my life as a writer, a retired educator, and a woman, I can think of countless women who mentored me.

My mom along with my dad helped me with learning to read. I’ll never forget how I struggled a little at the beginning. They made me read the book The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss aloud while recording my reading. I had to listen to my reading, stumbling over words, not pausing for end marks, and feeling frustrated as a five year old. Although I loved hearing others read, I had to learn to do so for myself. By the end of that session, I fell in love with the rhyming and story. Then I went on to read every single book by Dr. Seuss. Later in life, my mom lent me her paperback books. It was those early Harlequin novels and Pocket books that inspired me to become a romance writer.

Mom also influenced my art. When I was a child she took me to a pottery school near our home in the West Village. I still have a few pieces that I made when I was seven years old. Rather than buy Christmas cards, she helped me design them. Many years later we still talk about art, and I continue to enjoy creating it whether drawing, painting, or photography.

Two teachers stand out in my mind as mentors. Mrs. Seguine, my fifth grade teacher at P.S. 23, helped me get over my shyness and make a transition from a parochial school to a public school. She also complimented my creative writing. One time after she gave an essay exam, I handed my essay in last. Although a few students laughed at me for being slow with finishing, Mrs. Seguine told the class that I cared enough to do my best and that one day I would become a writer. I did.

My eighth grade English teacher, Miss Maniscalco, helped me get over my fear of public speaking. Although a good student, I did not like getting up in front of the room to give oral reports. I had read Animal Farm and loved it. In fact, I loved all the assigned readings. Miss Maniscalco made suggestions on how to deliver my presentation. I took those suggestions and did very well. Although I still wasn’t crazy about public speaking, after a while I became more comfortable doing it. Ironically, I would one day become an eighth grade English teacher. All those phobias helped me, I think, to mentor the shy students I taught.

I had a lot of women mentors as a writer. They included Kathryn Hayes, a children’s book author and public librarian. Kathryn enjoyed the pieces of stories that I shared with her and encouraged me to finish my work. Rita Rinaldi, a retired hair stylist and book reviewer, read my earlier versions of my historical romance Wildflowers, giving content critiques and a ton of encouragement. She also helped me with the title. Irene Weissman, a business woman and writer, provided a lot of feedback and got me to see the lighter side of things. All three are gone now, and I miss them. There are other writers who were in critique groups or writing groups with me. Some gave me feedback. Some gave me a pat on the back. Some gave me a much needed kick in the butt to keep going. All wonderful women. I am so grateful to them.

I also appreciate the women authors I knew through their work, some long gone like Emily Dickinson, Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Maya Angelou, and current popular fiction writers like Isabel Allende, Jo Jo Moyes, Julia Quinn, Debbie Macomber, among others.

Re-imagining Life and Writing

By Catherine • January 13, 2025

Birds on a winter day watercolor by Cathy Greenfeder

Wintertime with its darker days and colder weather tends to bring me down, but it also helps me to reflect and to imagine more which helps with the writing. I tend to journal more when it’s grey outside.

When I retired from full time teaching four years ago, I had to re-imagine what to do. I found purpose in writing, art, and travel, volunteering my time, and being with family. I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to visit a number of countries including Switzerland, Germany, Egypt, Israel, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Re-imagining a story involves looking at it more as a reader than a writer, and then going back to do some more writing. As a pantser more than a plotter, I do a lot of revision until I get what I consider the best story. It may take additional editing, but I feel more confident that it’s done. I am currently writing the rough drafts of two stories, a YA paranormal novel set in New Jersey which is about a teenage witch and a women’s fiction story about a young immigrant from Ireland. I realize both will take more time and more re-imagining.

Inspiration for my writing and revising comes in many forms. These may include other stories, photographs taken from online sources or print magazines, and my critique groups. I’m currently in two. Even art can inspire as I “see a story” in a certain painting. A diversity of music helps. I enjoy listening to a variety of musical genres including classical, pop, country, and spiritual. Sometimes I play music in the background as I’m writing.

My latest travels included a safari in Kenya and Tanzania with a stopover at the famous William Holden Foundation,

Road Scholar Tour of Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Tetons, and the Badlands took us through parts of South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana, and Switzerland.

The American bison, once endangered, are now plentiful in Wyoming and South Dakota.

Seeing new places, meeting people, and learning so much about the culture provides enrichment and inspiration for my writing. Despite the doldrums of winter, it helps to seek out that inspiration and mainly to keep on writing. As a well-known writer, editor, and former agent, Alice Orr, once said, “Do It Anyway” when it came to writing. That’s gotten me through a lot over the years.