Writer’s Mental Health
"Are you there already?"
Writing a novel is, of course, a mad undertaking. It begins with an effervescent, glimmering vision of perfection, which sets the writer off on her ink-stained quest, assured that THIS time she will reproduce the vision exactly, and as scintillatingly as it first appeared. This mirage is quickly followed by the mossy-toothed skull of doubt,…
Read MoreBailey Day
Today is the one-year anniversary of the day Bailey-the-Rescuepoo came to live with My Best Beloved and me. The Best Beloved is in Europe just now, but he sent an email requesting I give Bailey a few extra treats for him on what he calls “Bailey Day.” He said he can’t believe how his heart…
Read MoreWriting lessons — with laughter
Last night The Best Beloved and I had dinner with Haitian/Quebec writer Dany Laferriere. Dany has written a vast number of books, including the well known and critically praised “How To Make Love To A Negro Without Getting Tired.” His new book, a brilliant memoir entitled “The Return” has been short-listed for the 2011 Giller…
Read MorePsychology Today article
I have an article about forgiveness up on the “Psychology Today” website . . . . many thanks to my friend, wonderful writer Ethan Gilsdorf, for making this happen. You can read the piece by clicking here. thanks!
Read MoreI Dreamed A Dream
Last night I dreamed I’d written the perfect story. I came half-awake, filled with a sense of contentment. I even knew what the story was about. It was about a man who was mediating between two warring tribes when it came to him he had the answer to their conflict, which involved both sides saying…
Read MoreOpening the stranger door
So, while I’m waiting for the publication of my new book, I’m turning back to the work-in-progress, which has me in something of a twist. It’s been a relief, frankly, to put it aside for a couple of months while I concentrate on the ‘bidness’ of publishing. However, The Big Dog now wants to be…
Read MoreBright Spots
I am so grateful for the support I’ve received for my new novel, Our Daily Bread. Thomas E. Kennedy, author of The Copenhagen Quartet, Duff Brenna, author of Too Cool, The Book of Maime and The Holy Book of the Beard (among others), and Dexter Palmer, author of The Dream of Perpetual Motion, have all…
Read MoreThe Things We Carry
As some of you know, my ninety year old mother has had some pretty serious health problems lately and, as her only living relative, the responsibility for her care falls on me, as does the responsibility for cleaning out her condo. Few things in life are as daunting and emotionally exhausting as cleaning out an…
Read MoreThe Cranky Muse
Last month during the Sharpening the Quill writing workshop I lead here in Princeton, one of my students mentioned that although her lifelong dream has been to be a writer, she’s been plagued over the past year or so by a series of illnesses that have kept her from writing as much as she’d like. …
Read MoreI Don't Write To Be Consoled
In Joyce Carol Oates’ new book, “A Widow’s Story” in which she explores grief in the aftermath of her husband’s death, she apparently decides art is a poor consolation. To be honest, I haven’t read the book, but I thought it was an interesting thing to say. I had to ask myself whether or not…
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