Category Archives: Play

The Shame I Feel

I’m stupid. I’m inadequate. I am a failure. This is what I grew up believing about myself, and there was no place that proved these points more often, more relentlessly, and more consistently than school. All day long, five days … Continue reading

Posted in Book tour, Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, Decisions, depression, economics, education, emotion, Energy, failure, fiction, History, Listening, Magic, Maintenance, marketing, Pain, Play, privacy, Process, Public appearances, Publishing, research, silence, Society, spaciousness, spirit, Starting a new work, Stillness, Story, Strength, success, survival, The market, the world, Uncategorized, Visibilty, what artists need | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Art of Listening

If you are a writer, you must listen. You must listen to your instincts. You must listen to the world. You must listen to the things that lack conventional voice. You must listen to the trees, the river, the deer, … Continue reading

Posted in Advice, comfort, Consumerism, creativity, Day by day, education, Elitism, emotion, Energy, Exploration, fun with what we do, intuition, Magic, Philosophy, Play, privacy, silence, spaciousness, spirit, Uncategorized, Wildness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Free Advice

When you’re a writer, you receive a lot of free advice. A good deal of it (most, I’d say) comes from people who do not write. I’ve been told I have to learn Latin (which I have nothing against, but … Continue reading

Posted in Advice, Community; Genorosity, creativity, Day by day, Decisions, Elitism, Energy, fiction, happiness, Magic, Play, Process, spirit, success, survival, The Writer's Life, Uncategorized, Wildness | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Obsession

My life, my mood, my days, my sleep – everything goes better when I have an obsession. Not the unhealthy kind. Not the does-he-love-me-why-doesn’t-he-call kind of obsession. Not the I-need-a-new-pocketbook-and-complete-wardrobe-overhaul kind of obsession. Not the I- need-to-pull-my-life-up-by-the-roots-and-start-all-over kind of obsession. … Continue reading

Posted in Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, depression, Drafts, Energy, Exploration, failure, fiction, fun with what we do, Grief, Magic, Passion, Play, Process, Prompts, research, Starting a new work, Uncategorized, work | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chasing Poetry

Every day the poems slip away, as indifferent as cats. They slink behind trees and clouds. The burble beneath the swamp. I glimpse them floating downstream as I am walking up. But they are not just in the woods. They … Continue reading

Posted in creativity, Elitism, Energy, intuition, Play, Poetry, Prompts, soul, spirit, Story, The Muse, Uncategorized, Wildness | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Bosoms

What I remember: Mother’s Day in Alabama. I am three. A blue dress in a box with tissue. The dress has bosoms, like my mother. My father picked it out for her, but it’s from all of us: the two … Continue reading

Posted in Motherhood, Play, Prompts, Strength, Wildness, women | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Trouble With Words

Words are clumsy. They will tie your tongue. They will embarrass you in front of the cute girl in school. Words will tie your shoelaces together. Words are the mean boys in gym class who pants you. Yes, yes. There … Continue reading

Posted in fun with what we do, Materials, Play, The Writer's Life, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

On Becoming a Writer

Once I’d made my mind up to it, becoming a writer was fairly simple. I committed myself to it. I studied it. I read a lot of books. I attended a lot of readings. I attended as many workshops as … Continue reading

Posted in comfort, Comparison, Competition, Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, Decisions, editors, emotion, failure, fiction, marketing, Play, privacy, Publishing, Self-worth, Starting a new work, Starting over, success, The market, Uncategorized, what artists need, Writing career | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Letting the Work Breathe

As soon as the contract for Persimmon Wilson was signed I started work on another novel. I knew I had just a slim window of time before the revision edits for Persy arrived in my inbox, and that once that … Continue reading

Posted in Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, Decisions, Drafts, emotion, Energy, Exploration, fiction, Journaling, Magic, Play, Process, Publishing, Reading, research, spaciousness, Starting a new work, Starting over, Story, Uncategorized, vacation, what artists need | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why Are You Reading This Blog?

Hello. You again. At the risk of breaking all the rules of blogdom, I have to ask, why are you here? What do you hope to gain? Is there some grain of wisdom you seek that has not shown itself … Continue reading

Posted in creativity, Day by day, Energy, fun with what we do, Magic, Philosophy, Play, positivity; grace; light, spaciousness, The Muse, Uncategorized, what artists need, Wildness | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments