In Writing Lab today I found the nerve to read aloud from my novel–just the first few pages. Afterwards someone inevitably asked, “How long have you been working on this novel?” I hate to tell you how long I have been working on this novel. Later I came across a She Writes feature from Melanie […]
I have been trying to make progress on a rewrite — a radical rewrite, a reboot! — of my novel. I have been trying to make progress despite having three teenaged daughters, a full-time teaching load, and various other concerns. It occurs to me that I have been in a similar place before. Eighteen years […]
It’s the second week of classes, and I’m way behind on blog posts. Then my brother has a heart attack. The nerve! It’s funny how you can think your life is as busy as it can possibly be, that you don’t have any wiggle-room for extras, and then something turns up and says, “Hey! Pay […]
Here’s a link to a poem of mine that appeared Santa Clara Review, fall/wtr 2009. On my first day of classes, one of the things I talked about with students is “how to begin.” We also talked about writing every day. It’s so easy to get caught up in a world of distractions, text messages, TV shows, […]