Writing Blog
Writing advice from Jane Smiley
“Writing is only one word at a time.” -Jane Smiley Is there any better advice for a writer? And even better coming from the talented novelist Jane Smiley. As writers know all too well, there are no shortcuts. It’s all about sitting yourself down in a chair and pounding out the words. Some days they’ll…
Read MoreLosing the childhood writer in us
“All children ‘write.’ I suppose the real question is why do so many people give it up.” Margaret Atwood How true is this observation? And even better coming from the multi-talented author Margaret Atwood. For what child doesn’t enjoy writing and storytelling? Yet how many give up that passion as they grow older and develop…
Read MoreWhat’s your writing inspiration?
I love reading author interviews and speaking to other writers about what inspires them. I think there are as many different thoughts on writing inspiration as there are writing styles. For me, I find my writing inspiration tends to cluster around a few areas: Travel – always. I’m an unrecovered traveloholic, and will remain…
Read MoreMourning the loss of your characters?
“After I write a novel or a story, I miss the characters—I feel sort of bereaved.” Marilynne Robinson I love this quote from the author Marilynne Robinson, perhaps best known for her novel Gilead. And for those of us who love writing – or reading – isn’t it too true? Think about reading a book…
Read MoreWriting advice from Umberto Eco
Finchè un’idea che hai in testa non viene messa sulla pagina non puoi capire se hai un filo logico. Until the idea you’ve had in your head gets placed down on the page, it’s impossible to determine if it has a logical thread to it. -Umberto Eco (1932-2016) The great Italian novelist, Umbert Eco, died last month. Eco…
Read MoreTime for writing reflection on the slopes
I often manage a week-long skiing escape with my kids in February. This year, I couldn’t manage a whole week, but we did squeeze in a long weekend on the slopes near Rome. This hasn’t been a great snow winter, and our long weekend included some wet days and lots of poor visibility… where we could…
Read MoreJane Austen was autistic?
I was reading an interesting New Yorker article that was reviewing a new book on the history of autism. In the article, they spoke about how much has changed even in recent years about our understanding of autism. There was also a short section on famous artists, musicians and authors we now believe may have…
Read MoreFavorite reads so far for 2016
I’m always pleased to get a good reading start to the new year. Luckily, despite a few duds, 2016 has started out quite well for me as a reading year. Here are my favorites so far (and I’m hoping there will be many more): The Last Summer Judith Kinghorn I enjoyed this atmospheric story, a…
Read MoreDo you give up on authors after one bad book?
I didn’t actually think that I did this, but I recently realized I tend to throw up my hands in frustration and not read authors anymore after one of their books disappoints me. This doesn’t mean just that a book’s not my favorite within an author’s oeuvre. But if I’ve dedicated a significant amount of time…
Read MoreWill the juice come?
As long as you can start, you are all right. The juice will come. -Ernest Hemingway I love this quote from the American author Ernest Hemingway, and I find it very useful. I was recently speaking to a friend who is mapping out all of her ideas. She seems excited about her project and endlessly…
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