by Ginny Bitting | Sep 29, 2025 | posts
Two years after Jake started his sheep farm near Big Alkali Lake, he put on his best clothes and went to propose. He even knelt down. Lanna laughed and then frowned. “Build me a proper house, and I will consider it.” He nodded. She was right. His house of sod wouldn’t...
by Ginny Bitting | Feb 4, 2025 | posts
There was definite relief and excitement after I wrote the first third of my novel, around the turn of the 20th century in Valentine, Nebraska. From what I’d already written, I ‘distilled’ an outline—a series of large post-It notes that captured the dramatic essence...
by Ginny Bitting | Jan 18, 2024 | posts
Last September, I flew to Omaha on a research trip for my next book, a novel, Valentine, Nebraska, the story of homesteaders based on my grandmother’s life. At Alamo car rental they said I could choose any Dodge Challenger I wanted. I picked the white one with Texas...
by Ginny Bitting | Sep 21, 2022 | posts
I have been thinking a lot about perspiration, inspiration and the maddening ebb and flow of passion in my writing life. The first line of this post came into my head this morning at 5:30 AM after six weeks capturing vague thoughts on yellow sticky notes. At her book...
by Ginny Bitting | Dec 9, 2021 | posts
This past October, clutching my mug of tea, I surveyed the unpainted pottery bowls and leaves laid out on the table and selected a leaf with curling edges just larger than my hand. The six of us in the workshop painted our pieces. The workshop leader, Trish, planned...
