Tag Archives: writing

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”

Climbing Mountains

“Oh my god.” I came home and banged my head onto my desk. “What am I doing with my life?” And thus began another episode of writerly angst. I’m not a big believer in writer’s block. But avoidance and angst? I gotcha covered. My attic room (not kidding) is a mess. Stacks of filed writing and notesContinue reading “Climbing Mountains”

Generosity and Optimism

MFAs cost a lot of money. Upwards of $30,000. But a cookie at my local bakery? Not so much. Every Tuesday and Friday, in a small corner cafe, writers come from around Seattle to write alongside Robert J. Ray and Jack Remick. For two hours, we talk shop and creative process and life. And thenContinue reading “Generosity and Optimism”

The Unanswerable Question

Toni Morrison once said that she often begins her novels with a question. Something difficult to answer. Maybe even impossible. And in a society that values the final product above process, ends before means, facts over wisdom–this seems revolutionary to me. During my college years, I had a mentor who believed we all had “seminalContinue reading “The Unanswerable Question”

Aim Small, Miss Small

So a friend told me each time I lined up a shot on the pool table. What he meant was don’t just target the cue ball. Pick a specific point on the surface where I want to leave a chalk mark. And choose a specific point on the ball I’m aiming to sink. Know exactlyContinue reading “Aim Small, Miss Small”

Family Tree

“In such a dissolved society,” novelist Jack Remick said, “Americans are hungry for cohesive units.” In “a nation of outsiders,” we flutter like moths toward anything that resembles family. So true. But how did we get this way? And what can lead us out of it? Thinking over my own life, I see I’ve hadContinue reading “Family Tree”

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”

Be Still, and Listen

I sat at my desk today running my fingers through my hair with frustration. “Ack! Why isn’t this working?” I was telling myself there was this scene I had to write. A middle-aged deputy returns to an isolated farming community where he was unable to close a case twenty years ago. Stumbling upon a chanceContinue reading “Be Still, and Listen”