In 1970, I was an undergraduate student at UMASS Amherst trying to come up with a suitable subject for a lithography printmaking assignment. I wasn’t terribly inspired in those days. I had a Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary that had been a graduation gift from my local hometown newspaper, where I was a high school journalist. I flipped […]
It’s been less than 12 hours since arrival in Belize and, already, I’m back in the groove. Any thoughts I had of maybe going elsewhere next winter are slowly getting squashed by the synchronicity that I always experience here. syn·chro·nic·i·ty1 /ˌsiNGkrəˈnisitē/ noun the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible […]
Is Perfection overrated? I think so. A writer friend just sent me a download on the importance of being “Good Enough,” as opposed to being “Perfect.” Long Story Short: If we fall victim to the whims of the Perfectionist in ourselves, we can damage the expression of our Creativity. Example: You write a stream-of-consciousness response […]
The Dream, Climbing Back To Creativity Yesterday I arrived at my destination just as dark fell upon a tiny beach village on the U.S. side of the Canadian border at British Columbia. I had driven north on a grey day (or a gray day or a grey dey- I was already contemplating poetry and prose- […]
When is listening to a writer podcast as important as sitting down to write? When it’s A. C. Fuller’s Writer 2.0, a podcast dedicated to writing, publishing and the space between. I met A. C. Fuller at the 2015 Pacific Northwest Writers Association conference by attending his presentation on editing, and later, at his book […]
Write down ten things that you want to be remembered for or ten characteristics that you want to be remembered for. Ten “totally you” remembrance criteria. Do this before you read any further so that you’re not influenced by the ten criteria that I’m going to share regarding my own life. “How do you want […]
This is Mental Health Week. Last week I enjoyed a glorious retreat of self-discovery and restoration at Kripalu, the world famous yoga and wellness center in Stockbridge MA. I didn’t check in under my writer name and I definitely didn’t plan on writing about my time there. I also didn’t plan to be transformed by […]
Writing a memoir isn’t for sissies. Let me rephrase that. Writing a memoir is for hard core masochists- for those who truly enjoy pain- because, for the most part, that’s what you’re going to experience as you struggle with what to tell, what to hold back, and how the whole fits together. I was just […]
A Comfort Vest, you may know, is a garment that’s designed to calm dogs who become frightened due to loud noises like thunder. You zip or click or velcro the vest onto them and the close fit provides the soothing comfort of a full body hug. I only learned of these at 4th of July […]
