Writing process
"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 MoreOh My, The Things I Don't Know
How many times are we told to write about what we know? Too many. I’ll be honest — I’m a magpie, by which I mean I’m someone who’s easily distracted when previously unnoticed bright shiny objects catch my eye. I believe this is a wonderful quality for a writer. Sure, we need discipline, stick-to-it-ness, focus…
Read MoreWatch the Birdie . . .
One of the greatest habits a writer can develop is that of observation. Observation is a form of discovery — we look at the mundane, the ordinary, and because we pay attention to it we see it in a new way. A visual artist may sit down in front of something — say a crow…
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 MoreWhat's more important, plot or great prose?
My Best Beloved was recently at an insurance industry conference, from where he sent me an email saying he was in the midst of a discussion with an associate about literature. I can’t tell you how gratifying it is to think of business folk taking a break from discussions of annuities and risk prevention to…
Read MoreHere comes the crow, again
So, here I am again. In THAT place. I have a book coming out in the fall (OUR DAILY BREAD), and so I’m presently looking at galleys and cover for the Advanced Review Copies that will go out to reviewers. Soon I’ll be involved in the kind of publicity authors are expected to do…
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…
Read MoreDeath Be Not Proud
“Death is a test of one’s maturity. Everyone has got to get through it on their own. I want very much to die. I want to become part of that vast extraordinary light. But dying is hard work. Death is in control of the process, I cannot influence its course. All I can do is…
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