It’s Giving Tuesday, a day to donate to good causes. Top of my list is supporting writers and readers. If this sounds self-serving, it’s because it is. Democracy & Literacy Democracy depends on a thoughtful, literate electorate. I’m deeply in favor of democracy, particularly one that protects freedom of speech. Lately, political speech has become […]
Train Travel Residency
The Amtrak Residency is currently suspended, but that hasn’t stopped poet Julia Shipley and two colleagues from creating a Train Travel Residency of their own. Shipley is a non-fiction writer, journalist and poet who lives in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. This past winter she and two colleagues created their own Train Travel Residency. They boarded Amtrak’s […]
Thanking My Students
Tonight, I’ll be giving an informal commencement address thanking the students who’ve participated in the memoir-writing class I’ve been teaching at the Moore Free Library for the past twelve weeks. This is what I’ll say: Thank you for your courage to show up and bleed onto the page. Thank you for trusting each other and […]
Weeding and Words
Sometimes, weeding is the best way to learn how to write. Thinning plants can be as painful as deleting favorite passages of description or dialogue, and just as essential. If seedlings in my garden are two crowded, none of them thrive; if my page is crammed with too many details, I risk losing my readers’ […]
How Long Does It Take To Write A Book?
“How long it take to write a book?” my dad asks. “It depends,” I answer. “How long does it have to be?” “As long as it needs,” I reply. “How long is the book you’re writing?” “It was four hundred pages.” I say. “Four hundred pages!” he says. “Wow!” “But now it’s just two hundred,” […]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 5
- Next Page »