“I tore the couch apart and vacuumed up all the crumbs, and five minutes later the kids are sitting there pounding down chips.” So said the woman beside me in the hair salon. She certainly caught my attention with her opening remark: I tore the couch apart. Why would anyone do that? I wondered. Ah, to vacuum. But then the kids are pounding chips. Her word choices suggested that a battle raged … [Read more...]
Writing Advice, Le Guin and Woolf
When successful writers write books on how to write, the books tend to be one of two kinds: actual how-to books or how-I-did-it books. I find the former highly useful, and many of them have sat on the bookcase in my office for years, frequently revisited for use in my classes. But the latter tend to be much more interesting. Students and clients alike often cite Stephen King’s On Writing as their … [Read more...]
Favorite Quotes
During a recent class, I discussed rhythm, starting with a passage from Ursula Le Guin’s excellent Steering the Craft, and moving on to Virginia Woolf’s equally excellent explanation: “Style is a very simple matter; it is all rhythm. Once you get that, you can’t use the wrong words.” Simple, right? I then read aloud one of my favorite examples of style/rhythm/right words. It’s three paragraphs … [Read more...]
“I’m Doing the Best I Can”
For my birthday last year, a friend gave me a book, one that I probably would not have bought for myself because it’s a memoir. I don’t tend to read memoirs. But I loved the title: All the Way to the Tigers. Who wouldn’t be intrigued? And the author’s name rang a bell—Mary Morris. I checked to see what else she had written and recalled that many years ago, I had read one or two of her novels. So, … [Read more...]
The Creative Walk
I walk. It's a defining characteristic, a must-do every day. These are not long walks, they rarely qualify as hikes, but for me a walk is frequently--maybe always--a creative walk. I read this article about walking about a year ago. I nodded in agreement through most of it, but was certainly surprised to learn all that was happening in my brain as I walked. What did not surprise me were the … [Read more...]