Category Archives: Story

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

The Woo At Work

Writing a novel is messy. It’s a willful entrance into the unknown. It’s uncomfortable and weird and it feels wrong a lot of the time, especially in the beginning. And then one day you notice a gathering of clouds just … Continue reading

Posted in Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, Decisions, Energy, Exploration, Magic, positivity; grace; light, Process, spaciousness, Starting a new work, Story, The Muse, The zone, Uncategorized, Woo-Woo, work | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Writers and Editors

Editors work with energy. Writers also work with energy. But the energy is different. For a writer it’s deeper, it’s more personal, it’s intimate. This is not to say that what editors do is unimportant, only that writers have relationships … Continue reading

Posted in Completing a novel, editors, emotion, Energy, fiction, Philosophy, Process, Publishing, research, Revision, Story, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Take Heart, Creators

I imagine that we all have a lot spinning in our hearts right now. It’s an election year here in the United States, and a contentious one and the energy is painful and distracting and punishing. Political views aside, how … Continue reading

Posted in comfort, creativity, Day by day, depression, emotion, Energy, fiction, Gratitude, Grief, History, Process, Publishing, Story, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Weaving a Blue Horse

This weekend I tried to weave an image of a horse on my small lap loom. It had been a long time since I’d tried to shape a horse with yarn across tightly stretched warp, and it wasn’t coming easily. … Continue reading

Posted in creativity, Day by day, Decisions, Drafts, emotion, Energy, Exploration, failure, Gratitude, Materials, Miracles, Revision, Starting over, Story, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Day Without Devices

On my walk this morning I found a nub of purple chalk a child had used to scribble on the pavement. I picked it up, an opportunity in my hand. What would I write? I thought hard about it, and … Continue reading

Posted in creativity, Day by day, Energy, fiction, fun with what we do, Gratitude, happiness, home, Journaling, Magic, Maintenance, privacy, Process, Self-worth, spaciousness, Story, Uncategorized, voice, what artists need | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

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

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Nine times a month I teach classes devoted only to writing from prompts. The prompts can range anywhere from a line of poetry, to a picture, to an object, to writing a story that places an object within a picture, … Continue reading

Posted in class, Community; Genorosity, creativity, Energy, Exploration, fun with what we do, Magic, Process, Prompts, Story, Telling our stories, The Muse, Uncategorized, Writing exercises | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

What are you working on now?

What are you working on now? There is no escaping this question once you are a published author, but the answer is complicated. For me anyway, which is one reason I don’t like to talk about works in progress. In … Continue reading

Posted in Book tour, comfort, Comparison, Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, Drafts, emotion, Energy, fiction, privacy, Process, Publishing, Self-worth, silence, Story, success, Uncategorized, what artists need | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment