Tag Archives: research

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

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 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

Defining Self

Because I had difficulty absorbing the information given in school, and because I failed tests, I believed that I was stupid. Because I believed that I was stupid, I believed that I was inferior. Because I believed I was inferior, … Continue reading

Posted in Community; Genorosity, Comparison, Competition, creativity, economics, education, Elitism, emotion, Energy, failure, fiction, Gratitude, home, intuition, Philosophy, research, Self-worth, success, survival, The market, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 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

Proof of Seriousness?

For years I wrote while holding down some sort of job that had nothing to do with writing. The jobs were not glamorous. House cleaning, bartending, carpentry, costumer, clerk in a grocery store, cocktail waitress, house cleaner again, and again, … Continue reading

Posted in Community; Genorosity, creativity, Day by day, Decisions, economics, Elitism, Exploration, Philosophy, Publishing, research, Uncategorized, work | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Thick Skin, Tender Heart

Dear Lisa, Last week I received the revision letter for a novel that will be published in 2016. The notes are far more extensive than I expected. As I scrolled through initially I panicked. It seemed too much to absorb, … Continue reading

Posted in Completing a novel, creativity, critique, Day by day, depression, Drafts, editors, Energy, fiction, Play, Process, Publishing, research, Revision, Starting a new work, Story, The Muse, Uncategorized, what artists need | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Puzzles

Dear Karen, I envy you being in the midst of writing a novel. I miss the puzzle of writing, the way my mind goes blank on everything else as I try to figure out the missing pieces. Maybe I need … Continue reading

Posted in creativity, Drafts, Process, spaciousness, The Writer's Life | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Research

Dear Karen, I have heard that when a woman is about to go into labor it is not uncommon for her to clean the house. This is what I have been doing lately, although what I am pregnant with is … Continue reading

Posted in Completing a novel, Drafts, organization, Publishing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment