The Guardian published “Ten Rules for Writing Fiction” from each of 29 well-known authors–Elmore Leonard, Diana Athill, Margaret Atwood, Roddy Doyle, Helen Dunmore, Geoff Dyer, Anne Enright, Richard Ford, Jonathan Franzen, Esther Freud, Neil Gaiman, David Hare, PD James, AL Kennedy, Hilary Mantel, Michael Moorcock, Michael Morpurgo, Andrew Motion, Joyce Carol Oates, Annie Proulx, Philip […]
The Writing Life
Have you read The Writing Life by Annie Dillard? You should, you should, if you’re a writer (or any sort of artist). Aren’t we all, in a way? I’m in the throes of writing again, so these quotes mean something to me. Perhaps you’d like to listen in… “So it is that a writer writes […]
Melting
Liliana is anxiously awaiting the disappearance of snow and appearance of green grass, for it is then that I’ve promised her a sleep out in our tent. “The coyotes won’t get us, right, Mom?” she says. I nod. Truth is, the coyotes do come running through our ravine frequently (and sound truly demonic, but that’s […]
There Are a Few Things You Must Know
Lovely thoughts to remember from William Martin’s The Parent’s Tao Te Ching. [Oh, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book!] There Are Few Things You Must Know There are few things you must know to become a wise parent. You must know that you are going to die, for then you will be able to truly […]
Bibliophile Treasures
Noteworthy literature tidbits for today, since I’m doing the last bits of heavy research for my second novel. Barack Obama writes a fan letter to Yann Martel for Life of Pi. A playlist (by Mike Errico) for Kelly Corrigan’s new book Lift, which comes out today. Corrigan wrote Lift as a love letter to her […]