Tag Archives: spaciousness

Making Art in the Age of Trump

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Nancy

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 | 2 Comments

Relearning Stillness

Posted on January 2, 2017 by Nancy

For two months I have been on the move within a twelve mile radius. I was forced to leave my beloved studio (dubbed the treehouse) where I have worked and taught my classes for ten years. There was a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in comfort, Day by day, emotion, Energy, fiction, Listening, Maintenance, Process, procrastination, silence, Starting Again, Stillness, The Writer's Life, Uncategorized | Tagged busyness, character, dread, fear, life of a writer, not writing, priorities, process, productivity, spaciousness, starting again, stillness, storytelling, Voices | Leave a comment

Walls, Doors and Windows

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Nancy

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 | 6 Comments

The Art of Listening

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Nancy

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 advice, character, life of a writer, listening, magic, not writing, physical world, spaciousness, unplugging, Voices, writing life | 4 Comments

Letter to Self

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Nancy

Dear Nancy, What can I tell you that, deep inside, you already know? The world is a rough place. Find the beauty. It is what will save you. The fear you feel at the publication of a new book is … Continue reading →

Posted in comfort, Community; Genorosity, Day by day, Decisions, depression, emotion, Energy, Gratitude, Grief, Journaling, Magic, Pain, positivity; grace; light, privacy, Publishing, silence, Society, soul, spaciousness, spirit, Strength, survival, the world, Uncategorized, Wildness, women, work | Tagged dread, fear, giving up, grief, magic, priorities, process, promotion, public, renewal, spaciousness, support, working | Leave a comment

On Writing and Balance

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Nancy

This is from a talk I gave at the Franklin County Arts Council Writers’ Guild Spring Retreat on balancing a creative life with a work life. The problem is never time. It’s urgency. How much urgency do you feel? How … Continue reading →

Posted in comfort, Comparison, Competition, Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, depression, emotion, Energy, fiction, fun with what we do, Grief, Process, silence, spaciousness, The Writer's Life, Uncategorized, Writing career | Tagged advice, character, creative life, fear, giving up, life of a writer, not writing, process, productivity, spaciousness, storytelling, writing life | 4 Comments

The Woo At Work

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Nancy

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 character, creative life, life of a writer, magic, process, research, spaciousness, support, The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson, writing life | 6 Comments

A Day Without Devices

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Nancy

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 character, creative life, life of a writer, love, magic, not writing, physical world, priorities, process, productivity, renewal, spaciousness, Voices, working, writing life | 9 Comments

Letting the Work Breathe

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Nancy

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 character, creative life, giving up, life of a writer, love, magic, priorities, process, productivity, spaciousness, Starting a new work, storytelling, The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson, working, writing life | Leave a comment

Money, Spaciousness, Deadlines and Bathtubs

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Nancy

For a long time before I had a writing life, I dreamed of one. I dreamed of living by the ocean in a little cottage, taking long walks, reading, eating good food, relaxing, breathing deeply. Or else I dreamed of … Continue reading →