The Writing Process
It’s a wonder I get anything done
I was writing this morning. It was quite early. The sun had yet to rise. Words were flowing. Paragraphs were forming. Things were good. Then my daughter, Clara, age 8, appeared at the table. Early. The sun still wasn’t up. Her very first words of the day to me were these: Clara: “I know Hawaii…
Read MoreWriting a novel is hard enough already. I don’t need these additional challenges.
All this before 7:00 AM. I love them dearly, but I’ve got TWO deadlines for TWO different books creeping up on me, and quiet time in my home is impossible to find. Instead, I’m listening to the kids spell “Nebraska” backwards and puzzle out the four states that begin with the word “New.” It’s cute,…
Read MoreFeline barrier to creativity
I’m desperately trying to wrap up the first draft of a new novel and a round of edits on a nonfiction book on storytelling. Both are due in my editors’ hands shortly. This makes it a lot less cute and a lot more annoying when Pluto sits beside my computer and starts swatting and grabbing…
Read MoreTeachers: Writers never write one thing at a time. Stop ruining children.
When asked how to combat writer’s block, my answer is always the same: If you have writer’s block, you don’t have enough writing projects. My list of writing projects currently includes: A novel under contract A nonfiction book under contract A middle grade novel under contract A piece for Parents magazine A piece for Seasons…
Read MoreCommitment, persistence, and practice can look a lot like talent. Don’t be fooled.
I love this video so much. I love this guy so much. If I owned a company – any company – and was hiring, this is the person who I would hire. So much of life comes down to grit. Persistence. Commitment. Tenaciousness. Practice. Yet so few often seem to be willing to put in…
Read MoreI wrote on an island. Under a tree. In the middle of a parking lot.
I arrived at the dentist office at 1:40 PM for a 2:00 PM appointment. With a book due in less than a week, I was anxious to return to the manuscript. The dentist has a television in the waiting room, so rather than trying to write with a talking head yammering in the background, I…
Read MoreThinking is a part of the writing process, damn it
I was teaching storytelling last week at Miss Porter’s School. I sent the girls off for an hour to write and craft their stories, and when they returned, I asked them how they did. “Not good at all,” one of the girls said. When I asked why, she explained that she spent the first 30…
Read MoreIncreased degree of difficulty is not appreciated
Writing a novel is hard enough. I really don’t need this added nonsense.
Read MoreHow to identify passive voice
This works every time. And it’s so much fun to insert into a student’s piece of writing again and again..
Read MoreMy less-than-private, not-so-well-appointed office
The New York Times ran a piece a few years ago that featured 25 “writers’ rooms.” Spaces where writers did their work. Here are a few: That same year, The Hartford Courant did a feature on me that included my writing space, which was and still is the end of the dining room table. Not…
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