I wanted to name my daughter Maya. Maya Angelou may be the reason I am a writer. She was probably the first female writer who I really read in high school, who made me feel like everyone has a story that is worthy of being told, and indeed must be told, in order to be […]
Why Writers Need to Be Readers
Every now and then you’ll come across a writer (often an unpublished writer, but still) who says they don’t read. They’ll offer as an excuse the need to keep their voice pure, to stay inside their own heads. To which I say, if your voice is that vulnerable to influence maybe it’s not that great […]
Joyce Carol Oates on Writing and Reading
Joyce Carol Oates gave a reading here last night, and while the time we got with her was much too short, I certainly found it inspiring. She mostly read, but she talked a little bit about what it means to be a writer. She said that it is a spiritual practice, a way to tell […]
My Crazy Process
A long-ago colleague of mine, fiction writer Lori Ericson, contacted me recently and asked me if I wanted to be part of a blog tour on different writers’ processes. I said sure, not really thinking about what it would mean to share how I work, because it’s a little crazy. Oh well, too late! I […]
Get Your Stuff Done By Controlling Inputs and Outputs
This is going to sound obvious, and it is, but when I’m able to really focus on my work I tend to do a better job. I’ll bet it’s the same for you, too. When you’re really working on work, whether that’s writing, design or whatever your work is, it’s going to be better, and […]
What I Learned Posting Every Day for a Month
I don’t know if anyone even noticed, but I have written some kind of post for this blog every day this month. (I want to say that as “every day this year” because that sounds so much more impressive.) I didn’t really set out to do it, but it happened that the beginning of the […]
Things I Need for a Good Day
I feel like this month has flown by and I haven’t been getting things done that I really intended to get done. I made some promises to myself that haven’t quite gotten redeemed yet, but I’m also doing a good job on a few things that I didn’t expect to be going so well. I’ve […]