Tag Archives: creativity

The Hardest Kind of Honesty

I tell lies. Whole packs of them. Mostly to myself, but I don’t think that in the least softens the crime. Because once I start to believe them, they get passed off on other people as truths. And then it just gets worse from there. But I don’t count fiction among my lies. Fiction, you’llContinue reading “The Hardest Kind of Honesty”

The Path of Greatest Resistance

I’ve noticed whenever I start writing a new scene, I feel an initial discomfort. Something in me resists writing it. It’s not a fear of the blank page. It’s something deeper. More like the fear of an empty mind. The discomfort of not knowing what to say. Like the cocktail party where you don’t knowContinue reading “The Path of Greatest Resistance”

A Sense of Worthiness

For those of you who also grew up watching The Neverending Story (1984), you’ll remember the scene when Atreyu must pass through the First Gate on his way to the Southern Oracle. Atreyu scrambles down the hillside, eager to face his first test. Perched above him, Engywook warns that “the Sphinxes can see straight into yourContinue reading “A Sense of Worthiness”

Courage in All Its Forms

I love this painting. It hangs on a white wall in a spare black frame in the Museum of Modern Art at 11 West 53rd Street, Manhattan. Kazimir Malevich painted it, probably in 1912, amidst Russia’s bloody and prolonged transition from imperial state to democratic republic. With Russia’s loss of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905,Continue reading “Courage in All Its Forms”

Fear of the Unknown

I’m not sure I understand writer’s block. A student came to me asking how she could overcome her anxiety about writing. She said she was afraid that she would write her essay, and it wouldn’t be perfect. “Okay,” I said. “So it’s not perfect. Look–I find it helpful to imagine the very worst thing thatContinue reading “Fear of the Unknown”

How You Get There

The crazy thing about the creative process–well, one of the plethora of crazy things–is that it isn’t linear. In fact, it’s an awful lot like shooting down a mountain creek in your kayak and hoping things turn out okay. I was talking over my novel with a fellow writer today, and she was interested inContinue reading “How You Get There”