Gather 'round…
I was with a few close friends the other day, and we were talking about our experience of God. Now, please understand, Im’a simplify the context violently here, or we'll never get anywhere. I'll just cut to my part, which was kinda' two parts: First there was my general presence answer. The deep knowing, the... Continue Reading →
Some Assembly Required by Anne Lamott Just as she chronicled the first year with her son, Sam, Anne Lamott this time lays bare her first year with Sam's son, Jax. And of course she does it beautifully. Lamott is Lamott, and the artistry with which she washes her familial story will keep me coming back... Continue Reading →
All these years--there have been so many--I've been writing book reviews in Goodreads, and then copying and pasting things over here to m'blog, and maybe adding in a little bit more flavor as a sort of prelude. Apparently I think the followers of the blog are in it for something different than the Good People... Continue Reading →
I love Annie Dillard. Non-Fiction, anyway. I can't speak to her fiction. But her NF is brilliant.It's interesting to me how I can forget things so easily. I was in the middle of An American Childhood when it had to go back to the library many months ago, and I never did get it back. Plum... Continue Reading →
Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace by Anne Lamott My rating: 5 of 5 stars My first Anne Lamott. I know. But it is. I loved most of it. I love her brokenness shining forth unapologetically, unabashed vulnerability, and snarky humor. Thus, Anne Lamott is a hit. But I do have to say that... Continue Reading →
It was one of those few and far-between epiphanies. The forehead-to-palm moments. In Quiet, Susan Cain was pontificating on the need for solitude in concentration and creation. The basic need for peace and quiet when embarking upon any creative - or deep thinking - process. She wasn't writing about writing, per se, but she did quote a... Continue Reading →
Darlings I was looking for something in my journal and came across this flash of an entry. It was inspiring, even though I only wrote it two months ago. July 2016 I wrote today. It was draining. I have been plugging along, giving the thing a once over with an ear for all my notes,... Continue Reading →
Writing Prompts I'm not big on them. I've encouraged my children to use them. I've read a good number of them. I've even thought, 'Hey, that one looks okay.' But actually taking up the challenge? Not so much. It may have been the recent freelance work - where I'm given exactly three things to turn... Continue Reading →
It has been said that tough things, painful things, are grist for the writing mill. Recently, friend of mine threw that one out there second-hand—the roll of her eyes and snort of derision reaching through the email screen. She offered it up to a mutual writing buddy, in case they might draw any more comfort... Continue Reading →
I'm nearing the end of my novel. This is exciting stuff, even if a wee bit terrifying. As I approach the final stages of my story, I'm finding myself writing very, very slowly. Interesting, since I am convinced that the my mission for the end is to drive the pace faster and faster. To throw... Continue Reading →
Man, is it hard to kill the darlings! I've been dancing around it for days, trying to figure out how I can work a scene into my novel. At some point I wrote it, obviously thinking it had a home. I don't know what happened since then, but, at this point, it truly is a gypsy,... Continue Reading →
Just kidding. I'm done. Were you worried? I have to say, that Structure Series was more than I bargained for. I thought I could tinker away at it, here and there, in between things. But that was not going to get it done before my Writers' Group meeting. Thanks to a marathon of post-generation, and... Continue Reading →
Tales From the Nexus 