A man’s face appeared outside the window of my office two days ago. Dark-haired. Early thirties. Startled me out of my chair. I had been sitting at the computer typing away on a story. He stepped onto my porch, silent. His body made a shadow on the floor. I turned. He stared from the other side … Continue reading »
Filed under On Writing …
Uses for Boys: An Interview
Uses for Boys is one of those books I read in one sitting and can’t stop thinking about. Erica Lorraine Scheidt’s writing is sparse and unusual. She explores the psyche of a young girl, Anna, who is growing up without much connection or adult guidance. The voice of Anna captivated me. Her innocence is part … Continue reading »
Sex and Violence: An Interview
The more connections I make in the writing world, the more I have the opportunity to read early copies of novels (which I love). This week I finished reading my ARC of Carrie Mesrobian’s debut Young Adult novel Sex & Violence, and I wanted to talk about it with someone. Actually, I really really really wanted … Continue reading »
Five Reasons A Person Can’t Blog
DO NOT do any of these if blogging is important to you! Ok, truth: this is really a list of five stupid things that have kept ME from blogging for the past month… 1. I got in a fight. Not like punching or anything. My mom and I drove to Idaho with my daughter and … Continue reading »
Year One
One year ago today I wrote my first blog post. The post stunk, mainly because I was trying too hard to be something I’m not: a writer who, on a first draft, can write brilliant online fiction. The experience taught me that like most mortals, I must spend hours and hours writing and editing and … Continue reading »
Library confessional
I’m alone in one of the library’s tiny study rooms trying to write something deep and profound. That’s what REAL writers do. I don’t want to be a failure, so I try to think deep thoughts. The door is closed and even though I’ve been here only twenty minutes (distracted by texts and Facebook and email … Continue reading »
I’m here, are you?
I woke up yesterday with a cold sore. My lip was swollen and blistery and I was pretty sure the world was ending. Turns out I’m still here. I think everyone else is, too. Apparently, the Mayans weren’t trying to predict anything; they just got sick of calendar-making. Don’t think I wasn’t worried, though. I was … Continue reading »
Guilty Pleasure Marathon 2012
Like most Americans, I dutifully spent Turkey Day in full consumption mode. I ate more turkey and potatoes and stuffing than I had capacity to digest and so, spent the next day combating killer heartburn and indigestion. Feeling like an idiot. I did put the hurt on the TUMS, though, and downed enough H2O that … Continue reading »
Look
I promised fellow bloggers Maggie at Fly Away Home and Aubrey at Write Aubrey Write that I would participate in the author tagging game called the Look Challenge. The game’s for bloggers who are also writers and is a way to let others sneak a peek at your work. Here’s how it works: Search your manuscript for the word “look” and … Continue reading »
On My Writing Residency: Going back to Johnson in my mind
About an hour drive from Burlington is the tiny town of Johnson, Vermont. Notable features include a wool store, Lovin’ Cup Cafe, a syrup store, a college, and the Vermont Studio Center (VSC). If you’re a writer or artist interested in doing a residency, consider putting VSC on your short list. Not that I’m a … Continue reading »
Letting my junk hang out
So I’m at this retirement party for these two guys my husband used to work with and I’m talking to this woman–another former co-worker of my husband, but also a friend of mine–who mentions she read (at least started to read) the original story I tried drafting in real-time on this blog. That story was … Continue reading »
Oh, Vermont. Oh!
So it’s my last day at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont, and I’m already sad. And sappy. I’ve met the most amazing artists from all over the world, and I hate leaving them. Did I get a ton of writing done, not really. But, oh! What an experience. I met Ron Carlson, who … Continue reading »
The end is near
Summer, my thirties, the pears I canned last year…so many cool things on the verge of being gone forever. Stupid finite human reality. I hate it. Now I have regrets…like I should have blogged during August (I’m a slacker). Should’ve made more of myself during the decade of my thirties. I should have savored those pears a … Continue reading »
My first time getting paid for it.
Usually I give it up for free. Now I feel used and I haven’t even held the check in my hand, just a contract promising me $250. (I hear that’s good money for what I just did.) Yeah, that’s right. I sold a piece of myself…A piece of writing. I thought it would feel better, but … Continue reading »
Crashing the Tin House Writer’s Workshop
Of course I couldn’t officially attend Tin House’s writing extravaganza this past week—it’s like $1,100. And of course I’ve been plotting for months to go anyway. The thing is, I’ve been to enough of these writing confabs to know they’re a bit like weddings. Everybody’s slightly drunk and blissed-out and wouldn’t know if you’re a cousin of the groom … Continue reading »
Haircuts and other acts of bravery
I need to cut my hair off. It’s long and heavy and ridiculous. But I don’t want to. Maybe long hair reminds me of being young… That’s the problem, see? I’m NOT young. I’m on the verge of forty, and the locks need to go before I “cross over.” So today I went back to … Continue reading »
The fine art of a Party Cat battle
I’m not sure why I love this mural. It’s painted on a building along Seattle’s busway in the SoDo Urban Art Corridor. Maybe it’s the absurdity or the tension or the cat’s pink party hat or the red star on the girl’s pocket. There’s something about the look in that Girlie’s wild cartoon eyes that draws … Continue reading »
One ticket, please, for that other Earth.
Offline. What a weird concept. It didn’t even exist back in the eighties when the most we could do to “disconnect” was take the phone off the hook. Which I never did. That was back when I was the social version of myself. Now I’m more a hermit version, but I still can’t totally hang … Continue reading »
What I remember about summer camp: Sleeping in a covered wagon, kissing boys, and buying candy at the camp store.
When I was a kid we lived near a Bible Camp where I went to camp most summers. Aside from kissing boys and buying candy and falling in “kid love,” my most vivid memory is sleeping in a covered wagon at a camp called “Wagon Train.” Instead of cabins, we slept in cramped rows of … Continue reading »
The Best Bad Book Titles EVER!
My friend Carrie Mesrobian is getting ready to have her first novel published. With a real publisher and everything. The book is YA and is going to be rad and she’s gonna be famous and all that. So yesterday, Carrie mentioned that she still doesn’t have a title for said forthcoming novel, which she’s just been calling … Continue reading »
What I do when I’m depressed about writing
I just read my last post about creating quirky characters and groaned. Out loud. And made that hideous pig-snorting face reserved for people who have just done something stupid. What kind of an idiot makes herself into a cutsie fake character on a blog? To make matters worse, I read this passage by Charles Baxter … Continue reading »
THOSE kind of people.
This week I’m reading Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and, of course, now I’m thinking about how I like quirky, distinct characters in writing. Also I’m wondering how best to create my own characters like Charlie, the book’s first-person narrator. If you haven’t read the book, it’s worth the read. Unless you hated Catcher … Continue reading »
