The roses are abloom, the balloon flowers have opened, the orange day lilies have unfurled, and the veggie plants are poking through the soil. Our bird feeders lure gold finches, cat birds, purple finches, mockingbirds, black-capped chickadees, cardinals, and those pesky ground feeders, the squirrels. The desk in my home-office faces a wide window, so… Read More THIS AND THAT
Of late, my blogs have taken a turn toward the current state of our nation. We’re witnessing a type of unbridled chaos that leaves one simultaneously exhausted from and titillated by the constant flow of unbelievable news emanating from Washington, D.C., Mar-a-Lago, or Bedminster, New Jersey. Many a writer has posted on Facebook or tweeted… Read More SHORT, AND HOPEFULLY SWEET
I love the sounds language creates. Perhaps that love explains why I learned to talk before I could walk. I would sit on my blankie in the middle of the room for hours and be entertained by my parents’ and grandparents’ reactions to my utterances. From an early age I learned to listen to words… Read More LANGUAGE IS OUR STOCK AND TRADE
Writers are observers of people, events, and political theater. We observe and sometimes record what we’ve seen, felt, and heard. Writers of a seasoned age who have lived through life experiences ranging from the very tragic to the most triumphant step through the writers’ world wearing a “shell of expectations.” We expect romance novels to… Read More WHAT WOULD JAMES BALDWIN DO?
You haven’t spoken to your best friend in a month. You pick up your phone and tap out her number…digits you’ve known for what seems like forever. After three rings you hear a robot’s voice say, “This number is temporarily disconnected. There is no further information about this number.” You comprehend the words you’ve just… Read More TEMPORARILY DISCONNECTED
Writing provides so many opportunities to learn, and learning presents so many opportunities to write. Let me explain. If you’re writing about a protagonist who supervises home sales for a home building company, you have to learn about the details of that character’s job. What are her responsibilities? How does she interact with the predominantly… Read More THE WONDERFUL MARRIAGE OF WRITING AND LEARNING
On November 5th, the Saturday before the election, my spouse and I were in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to attend our nephew Andrew’s wedding. For most of my life I’ve looked forward to attending weddings with the same enthusiasm that I’ve always mustered for getting a root canal or passing a kidney stone. That is, not at… Read More HAPPY THANKSGIVING?
