Thanks to a long-time friend for sending this to me: I’ve always liked Anne Lamott. What she has to say about writing is always inspiring. She really speaks to why many of us love writing and reading. I highly recommend her book, Bird by Bird. These are some of my favorite quotes: “For some of — Read More
They say you should write what you know…
So I’m writing that I know this is hilarious.
Writers in love
I’ve always been intrigued by writers who date or marry other writers. At one point in my life, I think I aspired to this. I imagined the two of us scribbling down notes during random moments, sharing story ideas, serving as first reader and editor for each other. It was a fantasy of mutual absorption — Read More
How to be a writer’s friend (or lover)
A writer friend of mine said to me recently, “I gave a story I’m working on to my boyfriend for his opinion and he just said, ‘It’s interesting.’ Nothing else. That’s it.” She was fuming. Please note: This boyfriend is relatively new on the scene. He has no idea how he’s “supposed” to respond, bless — Read More
Hemingway to Fitzgerald: “Go on and write”
Yet another fascinating post from Letters of Note: Hemingway writing to Fitzgerald circa 1934, giving his opinion on Fitzgerald’s just-published Tender Is the Night. The book tells the story of Dick and Nicole Diver, a couple based on mutual acquaintances (Sara and Gerald) of both Fitzgerald and Hemingway. What I like most about this letter — Read More
Top 10 fictional antiheroes
Check out this interesting list from LitReactor.com, featuring fictional antiheroes — classic and modern day. Makes me realize I love a good antihero. 1. Dexter Morgan from Jeff Lindsay’s series beginning with Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004). I’m fairly obsessed with the TV show. 2. Edward Rochester from Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (1847). I refer to — Read More
Ever wonder what your favorite characters look like?
A couple months ago, Brian Joseph Davis launched The Composites, a Tumblr that imagines the appearance of literary characters using in-book descriptions combined with composite sketch-rendering software. You know, the kind they use on CSI. It’s kind of creepy, if you ask me, especially the one of Humpert Humpert from Lolita: Um, yeah. Here are some — Read More
In memory of my journals
Since I was a kid, I’ve thought of “journal” as more of a verb than a noun. Some kids played handball, some skipped rope, some chased boys; I journaled. It was serious business, the kind of serious business that compelled me to ask my parents for a special birthday gift — a fireproof safe to — Read More
Here’s the thing
I’m not writing. At all. I mean, I’m writing for work, but that’s an entirely different animal. I’m enjoying that animal. I just haven’t felt any need or desire to write fiction. This truth has been looming for a while, but it really hit me today when I passed by a car with a bumper — Read More
Regarding rejection slips
Oh, Snoopy, I feel ya.