It occurred to me that as some parents tend to prefer a specific age in a child’s development, some favoring babies, others toddlers, and others teens, so it is likely also the case with babies — they themselves might be more comfortable at certain ages than others. This for me would explain why some babies […]
Category: writing
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The Fairy Tale Craze
Timing. It’s a killer. I wrote a novella-length feminist adaptation of Rapunzel in 2004. I’ve been trying to write complementary stories ever since. It’s been slow work, but now I’ve got close and far adaptations of Rapunzel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Red Riding Hood. And then I’ve got Stan, my devil story, which is […]
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Journeys
This weekend I went to a friend’s baby shower in NYC. As friends and parents dispensed advice on the parents to be, my favorite analogy was how traveling and parenting resemble each other: How you have to adventurous, brave and flexible and face sudden setbacks while you travel and after you procreate. (This is true […]
Right before I woke up this morning, I was dreaming that I was writing poetry. I was organizing a poetry reading and, as a featured reader, I had to work on creating new poems. Poetry intimidates me, but in this dream really good poems were coming out of me, and I had all sorts of […]
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Play
Every day since the semester ended I’m feeling a little bit lighter and happier. Today I woke up and realized I was totally carefree. No pending homework. No feelings of guilt or obligation. I felt like a floaty balloon. A balloon that wanted a long nap. There’s plenty to do, but a lot of it […]
It’s getting to be that time when I get antsy at not writing anything more creative than student papers–student papers, as far as I can tell, require sourcing good information and then organizing and explaining that information coherently. It’s a skill set for sure, but it doesn’t give me a buzz. Okay, it does give […]
Life is very exciting in these parts. I just tackled my second memoir chapter rewrite, and it felt downright successful. That’s two pleasurable chapter rewrites in a row. Inconceivable. (“Are you sure that word means what you think it means?”). Miraculous. The experience is good because I can read feedback on particular chapters that tell […]
I was reading the done manifesto, which encourages you (me) to wrap things up and move on, in acceptance that everything is a draft, and mistakes will naturally creep into the process if you’re highly productive (paraphrasing). I like the idea of getting things done, of course, and maybe I should embrace the 20 minute […]
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The Best Surrender
I (triumphantly) snuck in some writing tonight because I realized that strictly speaking I didn’t have to do my assigned reading because class was a general assembly lecture. It felt naughty. It felt good. Writing soothes a part of my soul that nothing else can get to. Also, it felt really good to give up […]
So I finally got around to doing what I probably should have been doing all along–tonight I sent in three chapters from my memoir as submissions to literary mags. I can expect resounding rejections, but at least I’m doing what I think I’m supposed to do–which is opening myself to criticism and rejection by letting […]
Carol Shields, who is one of my favorite authors, wrote her first book by writing one page a day for a year. It sounds so easy. It’s so hard to do. I’m finding myself consumed by the need to get homework done, and so I probably need to find a new strategy to get creative […]
You know how families send around those Christmas letters detailing the year’s accomplishments and memories for the family as a whole and for its members? I got jealous. Single girls don’t send these letters. So I tried to write one (but maybe that’s already been done and it’s called Bridget Jones’ Diary) and it’s harder […]
I’ve been waking up and realizing that I’m mulling over the findings in my readings and how they are altering my world view–for example, the best predictors of decreasing poverty rates for African-Americans? Lifting out of poverty correlates to having more AA’s being employed by the government and their having greater political representation.(That’s tonight’s homework–email […]
I’m quite fortunate in that two friends have already given me comments on my memoir collection. (I only distributed my memoir a week ago.) Interestingly, the piece I consider my weakest was rated among the favorites and the least favorites, respectively. The world remains a place of diverse sensibilities. I’m already faced with a pile […]
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8 years
Today I reviewed a piece of fiction I have been working on for eight years. Eight years. It’s a short story I’m very attached to, but I can’t get it to come out quite right. It’s not like I’ve been continually working on it for eight years, it’s just that I haven’t gotten it into […]
This is my second blog site, but something about owning my own domain has changed the game for me. Maybe because it feels like I’m finally making a sizable commitment to my craft. You heard me–I really mean it this time (the claiming of a writerly identity I whisper). The creation of this blog (a […]
One of the horrible aspects of writing is how much waiting it requires. I hate waiting. just like Inigo Montoya in the Princess Bride movie. Things you have to wait for when you’re a writer: Ideas (a spark of a notion that makes you want to write) Ideas about your ideas (plots, characters, scenes) Clarity […]
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What Next?
Last night I went through a major rite of passage. I sent my first full manuscript (a memoir) to a handful of friends for their loving and brutal critique. Lucky for them, it’s a short manuscript. Only 160 pages (which will be about 120 pages when typeset.) I’ve given them a month to read (and […]
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Hello World!
I have no idea what I’m doing (owning a site, and being responsible for technical things), but here I go doing it. You’ll have to tolerate my learning curve. I’ve decided to start a new blog on writing. The process of writing my memoir was documented here. Why write about writing? I know. You haven’t […]