In a previous post, I mentioned that I no longer make New Year’s resolutions regarding the most important aspects of my life–my writing, my family, my personal growth. This in part accounts for the great success of the resolution I made for 2008.
The other thing that made my 2008 resolution successful, and a complete blast, [...]
I always appreciate the New Year’s Eve look back at the notable people who died during the year. Many of them contributed great things, works of art, science or public service that are worth remembering and even celebrating. Others stand as a reminder of human folly that shouldn’t be forgotten. What follows is a list [...]
I got an e-mail yesterday from a writing friend of mine, Karen McQuestion, forwarding information on the second annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. Beginning February 2, 2009, Amazon will accept unpublished novel manuscripts. The contest closes February 8 or when 10,000 manuscripts have been received, whichever comes first. Follow the link to find all [...]
Her long run on Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update news desk put her in the national spotlight. Her series “30 Rock” made her a critics’ darling. And her dead-eye impression of former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin catapulted her to superstardom. (It even earned her AP’s Entertainer of the Year Award.) But it’s Fey’s [...]
But now a knocking at the door was heard, and such a rush immediately ensued that she with laughing face and plundered dress was borne towards it the center of a flushed and boisterous group, just in time to greet the father, who came home attended by a man laden with Christmas toys and presents. [...]
In addition to getting ready for Christmas, this is the time of year when I contemplate a New Year’s resolution. In the past, I’ve resolved to do everything from losing weight to writing at least 1,000 words per day, every day. As my mother sometimes says, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Because, [...]
Vivid. Compelling. And completely unsuitable for use in your novel. What can you do with a memory or detail that’s too resonant to part with? Adam Gopnik’s essay introducing The Best American Essays 2008 is still on my mind, and it gave me the answer: Deploy it in an essay.
Some of my most vivid memories [...]
Snow is falling at the rate of more than an inch an hour, and has been since about midnight. So we’ve already got a good ten inches with a few more hours of snow to come before it tapers off. My daughter is still sleeping, blissfully unaware of the snow day. My son got up [...]
I’m a sucker for books on writing, so I’ve read lots of them–the good, the bad and the stupid. As a mental exercise I decided to pick the few I’d have to buy again if they were all lost. Here are my picks for must-have books on the craft of writing:
The Elements of Style, by [...]
Motivation, inspiration were not the problem …. The problem, if anything, was precisely the opposite. I had too much to write: too many fine and miserable buildings to construct and streets to name and clock towers to set chiming, too many characters to raise up from the dirt like flowers whose petals I peeled down [...]