Month: 14 years ago
Back to the Basics, Or Not
Writers can always benefit by going back to the basics, right? Or not? And more to the point, if you've been writing for awhile, have you tried going back to the basics recently? It is not that easy. Going back to the basics seems like a good idea. You get the desire to strip it […]
Seeing With Fresh Eyes
The other day, I was out walking in a neighborhood next to mine. And for some reason, I started thinking about the name of the neighborhood that I live in, which is Rose City Park. And the thought occurred to me that it is a lovely, evocative name. This is something I've always known, but […]
The Place You Write
I write in my upstairs office which is a converted bedroom. As I'm writing this post, rain is pounding on the windows and if I turn my head and look out the window, I can see into the backyard, which is lush and green and full of just-blossoming flowers. At least they were ready to […]
Friday Follies
So here it is, Friday again. Since I often have a busy day on Friday, and sometimes don't have a lot of time for a blog post, last week I asked for ideas about a short, useful feature to begin on Fridays. I got lots of great suggestions, because, well, I have the best readers […]
A Place You Go
Yesterday I wrote a blog post called Have a Place to Go in Your Writing. It was about how important it is to know where you are going when you begin a writing session. You can go back and read it here, but you don't really have to in order to understand this post. This […]
Have a Place To Go in Your Writing
When writing, it is important to have a place to go. For instance, Ernest Hemingway always ended a writing session in the middle of a sentence, thus insuring that he had a place to go when he started the next day. I've relearned this lesson over and over again in my own work. If I […]
What Commitment Looks Like
It is 3 PM on a glorious spring day in Portland. My cat's in the window making that weird clicking-in-the-back-of-the-throat sound that kitties make when they see birds or squirrels. It's spring break, so every normal human is outside enjoying themselves. Except me. I'm sitting at my desk, near where Captain is making odd cat […]
The Writing Process Redux
Every week my family gets together with my sister's family for dinner. We instituted this after my Mom died last year as a way to make sure that we all see each other regularly. It has been a wonderful thing, and we guard our Sunday Supper time zealously. Last night at Sunday Supper, in between […]