Let's get one thing straight at the outset: I know the subject of this post is not news to you. It is not news to me, either. What it is, is a reminder. A reminder I seem to need every so often, so I figure you might, too. Because putting writing first in one's life […]
I'm spending the day writing a eulogy for a family friend. Actually, my daughter is doing much of the work and I'm helping her. The two of us are sitting in my living room, kitty cats lolling on the floor between us, basking in the warmth of the fire we've had lit all day. It […]
Writing prompts…love 'em or hate 'em. Some people swear by them, while others shudder at the thought of using a writing prompt in their work. Because, too often, using random writing prompts can lead you astray. And let's face it, most prompts are a bit on the random side, aren't they? Those books of prompts […]
Worrying is not good for your writing or your creativity. Or anything else, really. How can you write the next great American novel when you are obsessing about how to pay the bills? Or if your marriage is going to survive? Or if your teenager is going to make it through high school without getting […]
When I was the mother of two young children, I would beg babysitting time from friends so that I could write. For awhile, I had a desk stuck in a back hallway in amongst the coats and baseball bats and mittens. I'd take the kids to my my friend's house and sit at the desk […]
I'm just back from a road trip that knocked my socks off. I drove, with two friends, to a remote ranch in southeastern Oregon, near Steens Mountain. (The above photo was taken on the gravel road up to the summit if said mountain. The Aspens were peaking and unbelievably gorgeous.) This part of Oregon is […]
Ah, voice. That mysterious and sometimes elusive quality that everyone looks for in writing. Agents and editors seek it and readers turn pages like crazy when it is present. Your favorite blogs have it. Your favorite characters have one. Non-fiction books are written in specific voices, and magazines have a voice keyed to their demographic–O […]
Everyone talks a lot about making time to write, but do you take time to write? I have a lot of transition points throughout the day, times when I'm segueing from one project to the next, or switching from being out and about to sitting at my desk, working. At these junctures, I often find […]
Place is important. I tend to fall in love with places the same way I fall in love with people–instantly and hard–and that figures prominently in my writing. I find ways to incorporate places that I love, like Portland, or places that fascinate me, like LA, in my writing. And then there are places like […]
Yesterday, I wrote about attending a private performance by Shawn Mullins. I wrote about how, at every concert that means anything to me, at some point early on I get a thrill through the very core of me that means I'm connecting to the music in a profound way. That thrill is the same impulse […]
