I've been slogging through the "final" rewrite of my novel lately. Its a funny thing with working on a long extended piece over time, such as a novel or a memoir. You rearrange one chapter and this rearrangement uncovers other things that need attention. Thus, more work and more rewriting. As the days I've allotted […]
I'm all for creativity–it is the centerpiece of my life. As a writer, I've had to cultivate ways to be creative and stay creative on a regular basis. This includes nurturing ideas, putting them on paper, and developing them into finished pieces, whether those finished pieces are paid work for clients or passion projects for […]
Last week, I set a goal with my friend and fellow writer Roy, that both of us would rise at 5 AM in order to write. The goal was to do it twice last week and three times this week. Since he's in Nashville and I'm in Portland, with a two hour time difference, the […]
A few years ago, a dear friend of my daughter's was planning her wedding and she and her fiancee asked me to become ordained so that I could perform the wedding ceremony. A quick search on the internet turned up Universal Ministries, and a quick check of Oregon's loose marriage laws confirmed that getting ordained […]
I've been on hiatus. Unlike when the television networks do this to one of their shows, this was not actually a planned break, just one of those things that happen once in awhile in the writing life. Last week I moderated a panel at AWP, and as is the case with most conferences, didn't have […]
I'm working on the final (ha!) rewrite of my novel, coming up on part two. I did a lot of thinking and making notes before I started this rewrite, which included many Great Ideas, and most of that affected part one. Why? Because it was character stuff. I worked on figuring out how characters reacted […]
The Big, Scary Beast and the Ancient, Frail Feline are both asleep (in separate rooms, I might add) and so I have a moment to ponder techniques to keep access to the muse alive and well. This is on my mind because at the recent Loft orientation, my fellow mentor and old friend Betsy Woods […]
John Updike has died, of lung cancer. You can read the New York Times obit here. I'm sad. I didn't even know he was ill. The obituary is one of those that has been on file for awhile and so doesn't talk a lot about the circumstances of his death. Love him or hate him, […]
The Sinner's Guide to Confession By Phyllis Schieber Today I have the pleasure of hosting a blog stop on Phyllis Schieber's virtual book tour. Wouldn't it be refreshing for an author to pay attention to women of a certain age (especially if you are a woman of a certain age)? Well, Phyllis Schieber has!Her novel […]
I'm home from Nashville. I actually got home Monday night, but I went right from being picked up at the airport to see my Mom, and came home exhausted. Its a long drag across the country. I know, I know, people fly much longer distances all the time now, but I don't care, it is […]
