Hallmark produces so many cards for so many occasions that the company has been accused of concocting holidays for the express purpose of selling cards that celebrate them. Whether the accusation is true or not,… Read full post »

One month and twenty-six posts later, I’ve made it to Z in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. This isn’t a notable achievement to anyone except me, but I am doing the dance of joy—not because the challenge is over, but because it turned out to be a far more enriching experience… Read full post »

Last month, Kevin Ashton published the blog post “Creative People Say No,” a post with which I agree wholeheartedly. If you haven’t already read it—or even if you have—I recommend that you read it now. Click on the link, leave my page, and read it. Then come back here. I… Read full post »

In second grade, I was sick a lot. Part of the time, I was faking it, although I did run a low-grade fever that my pediatrician diagnosed as school-itis, telling my mother, “She hates school so much that she makes herself sick.” Real, fake, or psychosomatic, my various ailments caused me… Read full post »

In case you had any doubt, it’s official: Whatever has polled as the most annoying word in the English language—for the fourth consecutive year. The research comes from Marist College, which reported these runners-up: like, you know, just sayin’, Twitterverse, seriously, and gotcha.… Read full post »

I haven’t read a lot of vampire literature. Vampires are hugely popular. They spawn gazillion-dollar movie franchises.

Vaginas are also hugely popular. They, too, have spawned gazillion-dollar movie franchises, although those are somewhat… Read full post »

One of the members of my writers’ group who has been reading my posts in the A to Z Blogging Challenge suggested recently that I might consider the value in learning to unclench and being open to surprise.

One thing that didn’t surprise me was her assessment; she has a backgrou… Read full post »

Years ago, an artist-friend was experiencing a crisis in her creative work. Her inner critic was so harsh and condemning that it had paralyzed her. We discussed how she could transform the critic into something or someone that would better serve her, and I’ve never forgotten what she came up wi… Read full post »

As I enter the homestretch of the A to Z Blogging Challenge, I’m reflecting on the fact that writing some posts has been effortless and writing others has caused much hair-tearing, swearing, and general dissatisfaction with the result. If the challenge hadn’t recommended picking a th… Read full post »

School was never a happy experience. I spent the entire first day of kindergarten huddled in a cabinet. I faked illness frequently and with the dramatic prowess of Meryl Streep. And I began first grade by getting lost. On the very first day, I went into the wrong classroom and sat… Read full post »

Shh. Just stop talking. Turn off the television, turn down the music, and listen to the silence.

That’s better.

I don’t think of myself as a temperamental writer. I have no patience for people who attribute someone’s assholery to the person’s “artistic temperament,&rd… Read full post »

In the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, I have a sentimental favorite: paper. Sure, it can be cut by scissors, but it’s paper. Some people collect rocks, and  probably a few collect scissors. I don’t exactly collect paper, but I accumulate a lot of it: inexpensive copy paper for workin… Read full post »

A few years ago, one of my fellow writers on Open Salon issued an open call for us to write our obituaries in exactly 101 words. It was more fun than it sounds, and it reminded me of who I actually want to be.

It’s easy to be who other… Read full post »

The willingness of memoirists to expose themselves never fails to earn my admiration. Some of them paint themselves in the most flattering light, but the best ones are honest about their lives and experiences. They show you their vulnerabilities and hurts; you feel their embarrassments and failures.… Read full post »

Several years ago I was waiting for a friend who was doing some research at a library at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. The campus has a labyrinth that’s open to the public, so I decided to check it out.

A colorful, hand-painted sign greeted me with these instructions:… Read full post »

The A to Z Blogging Challenge is pretty lenient about what constitutes a blog post. It isn’t easy to write 26 posts in a month and have every one of them turn out to be a good stand-alone post; that is, something you’d post if you weren’t under the pressure (never mind tha… Read full post »

K is for my aunt Kate—my great-aunt, actually, my grandmother’s youngest sister, who, at the age of 93, lies dying in a nursing home as I write this. Kate was only two years older than my mother, and they were more like siblings than aunt and niece.

How does Aunt… Read full post »

One reason so many of us are afraid to commit words to paper is that we’re afraid of being judged. The fear of judgment is so strong that it can paralyze us. Once we stare down or sneak past the inner critic and actually write, then fear of judgment can keep… Read full post »

It’s strange to write a post about inspiration at a moment when I’m feeling spectacularly uninspired, but writing is a strange business, and I’m not just talking about business in a dollars-and-cents sense. Writing is a mysterious affair, a blend of soaring inspiration and hard fuck… Read full post »

In the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, participants (even unofficial ones) post to their blogs every day in April except Sundays. Since each post uses a letter of the alphabet as a prompt, you produce twenty-six posts, all expanding upon a theme of your choice.

I went with a… Read full post »

When I was writing the manuscript I’m currently shopping and people asked me what my book was about, I told them I didn’t like to talk about it because I didn’t want to diffuse the energy I needed to put into writing it. This is Taos, and people understand the concept… Read full post »

If you write because you think it’s the path to fame and fortune, boy, are you in the wrong business.

Most writers I know write because they love the work. But I’ve also known people who think they can simply write a book, sell it, and live on the proceeds… Read full post »

Six years ago, I had a writing epiphany. I’d optimistically applied for a residency because if only my time were uninterrupted, if only I could work in a serene environment, if only I could focus strictly on my work, I could finish my manuscript.

The rejection letter that came from… Read full post »

I’d been wondering what my D word would be in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, and then yesterday I opened my email to find three rejections. Well, that's one problem solved: Discouraged.

Every step of the writing process brings the opportunity for discouragement. During the writ… Read full post »

Yeah, I swear. A lot. My father was a Marine, and my mother, who donned a gracious Southern lady persona when she was around other people, was pretty quick with the four-letter words at home. If profanity isn’t actually in my DNA, I got an early start, and I’ve been a… Read full post »