My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante
Book Reviews!
My Brilliant Friend: Neapolitan Novels, Book One by Elena Ferrante My rating: 3 of 5 stars I finished this book a while ago and have been thinking about what to ... Read more
Washing the dishes
A Room Of Your Own, Be here now., On writing
Just like the themes we are threading in our stories, these topics about the creative life resurface again and again. I’ve written many times before about focus, about staying in ... Read more
Go ahead, unfriend me, Facebook.
On writing
My best friend is the queen of unfriending. She has rules that define who to unfriend. Those who make passive-aggressive comments are the first to go. The signs are clear ... Read more
The downside of being a vegetarian now that it’s cool.
Veg Life
I used to spend a lot of time in the used bookstore downtown Aberdeen, sitting on the musty carpet floor with a stack of books to taste-test. I bought a ... Read more
Nostalgia is a funny thing.
Nostalgia, On writing
Summer is ripe for nostalgia. As children, upon the arrival of summer, we become suddenly free to choose. Choose our own books (in my case by the armload taken from ... Read more
Regarding Feedback: Why you don’t have to have thick skin.
Critique, On writing
Yesterday a writer friend asked my advice on an awkward situation he’d gotten into where he’d given another writer feedback that was not well received. Shocked by the negative emotional ... Read more
A defense of prompts, an opportunity, and a goldfish
On writing, Prompts
The other day I may have bought a few books at the Half-Priced Books 50% off sale. While the checker was scanning each book (took a while), one book (John ... Read more
Get out of your comfort zone
A Room Of Your Own, On writing, Yoga
This is easier said than done, yet this is the message I’m hearing loud and clear. A message without pretense or subtlety. Let me explain what I mean, and also ... Read more
A celebration of the pause.
A Room Of Your Own, Be here now., Goals, On writing
I can be an intensely goal-oriented person, and mostly this has served me well. I wrote a semi-autobiographical novella in part about resiliency, or at least that was the seed. ... Read more
The importance of place.
On writing
I’m four pages in to chapter two of my new book, a book I’ve outlined, made character sketches for, and even bought markers and big pieces of white paper to ... Read more