Category Archives: voice

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

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

Distorting American History

Dear Karen, I am not living the life I was raised to live. I was raised to be a housewife, to not work, to have children and stay home. My mother wanted me to go to college so I could … Continue reading

Posted in fiction, History, research, Story, Telling our stories, truth, Uncategorized, voice | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted in creativity, Day by day, Elitism, Passion, Public appearances, Self-worth, Uncategorized, violence, Visibilty, voice | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Empathy

Dear Karen, It is two days past Thanksgiving, 2014. At the start of the week we learned of a grand jury’s refusal to indict a policeman for the shooting of an unarmed black man. There were riots. Cars were burned. … Continue reading

Posted in class, economics, Elitism, emotion, Grief, Story, Telling our stories, Uncategorized, violence, voice | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment