Category Archives: Uncategorized

Before I started writing, I knew authors drew on their personal experiences to create realistic fictions. I learned this lesson in the 5th grade when I first met Jo March in Little Women: in a famous example of the write-what-you-know doctrine, Jo is … Continue reading →

In recent years, I have marked the launch of a new semester with a photo of the books that I will be teaching. The row of titles reminds me of what I must accomplish in the coming weeks, but, more … Continue reading →

“The idea hovered and shimmered delicately, like a soap bubble, and she dared not even look at it directly in case it burst. But she was familiar with the way of ideas, and she let it shimmer, looking away, thinking … Continue reading →

How do you know when your book is finished? I asked this question last month at the wonderful Highlights Foundation Whole Novel Workshop, and answers ranged from the practical, such as a deadline imposed by a publisher, to the abstract–an … Continue reading →

This is the computer I’ve had since 2010. It’s traveled the world–Catalunya, the Oregon Coast, Orkney–and it’s been my companion as I’ve traveled deep into my imagination. On this unassuming machine, I wrote three novels and began a fourth. This … Continue reading →

As I write this post, I am at the Highlights Foundation Whole Novel Workshop — Writing the Unreal. This is a week-long workshop involving delicious stretches of time for writing, presentations from amazing faculty, workshops of participant work, and lots … Continue reading →

In William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 55, the speaker describes the poem as “the living record of your memory.” That is, a person lives on forever because the memory of him or her is inscribed on the page. And not just any … Continue reading →

“These fragments I have shored against my ruin” T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land I have a large single-volume encyclopedia in which I pressed assorted flowers and fall leaves over the years. My grandfather gave me the book, and it matters … Continue reading →

I have just started writing a new novel. I’ve written one experimental chapter and have an outline. It doesn’t really seem right to call it a “novel” at this stage, or even to talk about it as a real thing … Continue reading →

The university where I teach has a wonderful program they offer every January and March called Writer’s Boot Camp. It’s a full week during which we are given space and time to write with no distractions–no e-mail, no phones, no … Continue reading →