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Category Archives: Public appearances
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 art and profits, character, creative life, life of a writer, literary world, priorities, process, productivity, promotion, public, research, sacred space; writing space; the writer's des, Starting a new work, storytelling, The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson, writing life
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Making Art in the Age of Trump
Writing takes spaciousness. It requires managing time and psychic space. It requires holding part of yourself away from things: reality, jobs, bills, money, even marriage and partnership and family. It requires keeping a large part of your heart and mind … Continue reading
Posted in Book tour, comfort, Community; Genorosity, Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, Decisions, depression, economics, emotion, Energy, failure, fiction, Grief, Listening, marketing, privacy, Process, Public appearances, Publishing, research, silence, Society, spaciousness, Starting a new work, Stillness, Story, Strength, survival, Uncategorized, Visibilty, what artists need
Tagged advice, character, creative life, fear, giving up, life of a writer, priorities, process, productivity, promotion, public, renewal, research, spaciousness, Starting a new work, working, writing life
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Walls, Doors and Windows
I am thinking about walls, doors and windows, and the rooms that many writers feel they are kept out of. The feeling is real. I have a lot of experience with walls, doors and windows. Besides the fact that I … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, class, Community; Genorosity, Comparison, Competition, creativity, economics, Elitism, emotion, Energy, failure, Gratitude, happiness, Magic, Maintenance, privacy, Process, Public appearances, research, Self-worth, silence, soul, spaciousness, spirit, success, survival, The Writer's Life, Uncategorized, Visibilty, work, Writing career
Tagged accolades, art and profits, character, fear, giving up, life of a writer, magic, praise; accolades; worth; words and value, priorities, promotion, public, renewal, self esteem, self-worth, spaciousness, working, writing life
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Living in Fear
I have been living in fear. I am afraid of my public life. I am afraid of what it might mean to be known for what I do and recognized. I am afraid of what it might mean to not … Continue reading
Posted in comfort, creativity, Day by day, Decisions, depression, emotion, Energy, fantasy, Gratitude, happiness, home, Passion, positivity; grace; light, posterity, privacy, Public appearances, Self-worth, success, Uncategorized
Tagged life of a writer, literary world, love, magic, physical world, praise; accolades; worth; words and value, priorities, process, promotion, public, renewal, self esteem, self-worth
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Writing Fiction
Writing fiction is always about relationship, and the first relationship that must be established is between the author and the main character. There’s got to be a certain intimacy in order to proceed. I can’t just write. I don’t just … Continue reading
Posted in Comparison, Competition, Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, Decisions, Drafts, emotion, Energy, Exploration, failure, fiction, Journaling, Magic, Process, Public appearances, Publishing, Starting a new work, Story, Visibilty, voice, Wildness
Tagged character, creative life, dread, fear, future, life of a writer, priorities, process, productivity, public, working, writing life
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Whose Story Matters?
Dear Karen, During my first book tour I gave a reading at a conference held in the auditorium of a university. I was terrified of public speaking, and to make it worse, I was completely intimidated by the people I … Continue reading
Elitist Construct
Dear Karen, Long before my first book was published, long before I had even written it, I struggled with finding a way to put words on paper and have them become a story. Part of my study was to read … Continue reading
Posted in Book tour, class, Comparison, depression, economics, Public appearances, Self-worth, The Writer's Life, Uncategorized
Tagged art and profits, life of a writer, literary world, promotion, public, self esteem, success, support
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Identity
Dear Karen, I have read and reread your letter many times. This is what struck me the most, it was in reference to leaving the job: “It’s as if I have turned in my sweatshirt that identifies me as a … Continue reading
