“Fairytales can come true,” Frank Sinatra croons, then promises, “it can happen to you,” but does it? An author sets up a table piled with copies of her latest novel and assembles rows of chairs for the scads of people surely lining up outside the bookstore to hear her read and get her well-practiced “scrawl” on crisp title pages.…
A Work in Progress: OK, I’ll Focus, But on What?
For years I’ve worn an oversized memento mori ring on the secure side of my tight-fitting wedding band. The rattle continually reminds me of the commitment I chose, but I’ve mostly ignored the memento mori ring. It’s been the clapper in the bell, noisy but invisible, essential but forgotten.…
So, I Listen: How Music Alleviates Writer’s Block
Hanging out on “Story Street,” my writing compadres and I were bemoaning writer’s block and how to dodge, nudge, or obliterate it. For me, short of divine intervention, the only cure is going for a long drive and listening to music.…
A Work in Progress: Writing from Death Row
Fifteen days ago, I received news that landed like a death sentence. A suite of MRIs that I received after a month-long headache revealed multiple brain lesions consistent with multiple sclerosis.
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I asked the doctor what type of multiple sclerosis he thought it was. After more than an hour of medical explanations, questions, and matter-of-fact answers, he broke eye contact and looked at the floor. I knew what was coming. I'd done the reading.
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I asked the doctor what type of multiple sclerosis he thought it was. After more than an hour of medical explanations, questions, and matter-of-fact answers, he broke eye contact and looked at the floor. I knew what was coming. I'd done the reading.
The Freedom of the Typewriter: Embracing the Shitty First Draft
I was walking through the dusty aisles of my local thrift shop one day when suddenly, in front of me, sat an old electronic typewriter on the shelf. The little price tag read nine dollars, so I took the gamble on whether it would even work.…
Take Them Shopping: How to Spend Time With Your Characters Off the Page
More than a few years ago, when mobile technology didn’t interfere with healthy posture and relationships, my mom regularly took me shopping on Saturday afternoons. Most of the time, we weren’t in dire need of anything in particular (except reliable air conditioning—it was Florida—and Chick-fil-A sandwiches), but we’d wander around the mall people watching, gagging from one-too-many perfume testers, and trying mystery meat samples at a weird German deli next to the Gap.…
A Work in Progress: What I Learned When I Quit Taking Classes
Just before Covid descended, I applied to an online writing program. As a high school math teacher, it was a stretch to convince my boss to convince his boss that an online master’s degree in creative writing and literature should be paid from the school’s professional development funds, but the fates intended for me to study writing, I guess, and he and his boss agreed to pay my tuition.…
Zen and The Pen: How to Apply Yoga Principles to Your Writing Practice
“Yoga begins right where I am—not where I was yesterday or where I long to be.”
–Linda Sparrowe
When training to become a yoga teacher, one of the first lessons I learned was to stress the value of “just showing up on your mat.”…