On writing

2016-02-152021-10-29

One true sentence? Considering Hemingway.

My seniors are reading Hemingway, so, of course, I am rereading him too. And thinking about him and his oft-quoted advice to writers. Just one true sentence? The truest sentence ... Read more

2016-02-022021-10-29

Where we embrace determinism

On writing

In some aspects of popular psychology, we doggedly embrace free will. Those who are not happy are choosing that state of mind. And happiness is the new American Dream. We ... Read more

2016-01-102021-10-29

One day spent chaperoning debate nerds. Two insights about writing fiction.

A Room Of Your Own, Goals, On writing

I say nerds admiringly. After all, I was one of them back in highschool when I regularly skipped other classes to work on my debate cases. Am one of them, ... Read more

2015-11-172021-10-29

Reflections on Nanowrimo at the midpoint, plus the not-so-sexy-after-all struggle

A Room Of Your Own, On writing

Yesterday morning I made it to 25,800 words on my Nanowrimo novel. My writing morning went as usual, with one significant difference. My alarm blared Bryan Adams “I’m Gonna Run ... Read more

2015-10-132021-10-29

A reminder to Make Time.

A Room Of Your Own, On writing

Hello writer friends!By this time of year I’ve normally posted an anxiety fueled post about the start of the school year, the subtext of which is always HOW IN THE ... Read more

2015-08-032021-10-29

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

2015-07-192021-10-29

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

2015-07-142021-10-29

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

2015-07-082021-10-29

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

2015-07-072021-10-29

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