Pat Conroy said, “The most powerful words in English are ‘tell me a story.’” Imagine our ancestors sitting around the glowing embers of a dying fire, the fire reflected in their eyes, their rapt attention inspiring the storyteller to go deeper and deeper still. Storytelling surely has instinct and intensity in primal roots and gut […]
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Writing the Nightmares
This morning I awakened at four, as is not uncommon for me. I rolled over and thought happy thoughts, took a few deep belly breathes and fell back asleep, only to reawaken two hours later with a vivid nightmare shaking me by the shoulders. Writing the Nightmares When I attended The Magic of Memoir conference […]
The Value of Writer Critique Groups
The value of writer critique groups was brought home to me this week. I finally located a Memoir-specific critique group and joined their Write & Share meet-up on Wednesday at the Greenwood branch of the Seattle Public Library. Frankly, I arrived a little shell-shocked. Riding the ferry is always relaxing. Seagulls and sea spray off […]
New Yorker Envy
I refer to New Yorker subscription envy. Not New Yorker resident envy. Sure, it would be fun to live in NYC—maybe for a month or a semester. (It’s been decades, but maybe once again I’ll find myself with a syllabus.) I see myself hitting up the museums I’ve not gotten around to. The Cloisters, for […]
Sit With Us App
The Sit With Us app was announced yesterday, creating a subtle but ground-breaking way for lonely teens to connect in lunch rooms without calling attention to themselves. 16-year-old Natalie Hampton designed the Sit With Us smartphone application in response to the feelings that she experienced when she spent her entire 7th grade year eating lunch […]
It’s All About the Food and Tradition
One of our sons is visiting this week with his wife, and a friend from his school days has driven up the coast to join us for a few days. If there were a theme to this week it would be “Food and Tradition” because when mothers entertain sons, isn’t that a major factor? The […]
Your Truth Can Inspire Others
Your truth can inspire! Linda Joy Myers, Author and Founder of the National Assn of Memoir Writers, shared a post today about vulnerability and truth in memoir. I don’t want to quote her suggestions in their entirety but you can read the entire post here. There was one point that stood out for me. When […]
Writer Conference Recharge
When the going gets tough, it’s tempting to close and laptop and back away. Writing is a struggle for all of us, and yet, if we back away, we’re just pushing The End further down the line. This morning I awakened at 4:45 in a terrifying nightmare sweat. It was the first time my memoir […]
Dawn on the 4th of July
The 4th of July dawns on Vashon Island with the sunrise race of the hydros (hydroplane boats, see wiki). 52 years running— a race to circumnavigate the island at sunrise. People love it. Or Hate it. It’s a noisy tradition that I haven’t been here long enough to love, and certainly how could I “hate” […]
Writing in the Garden
After two weeks of getting the gardens back in shape, I finally climbed down from the ladder and removed my deerskin gloves. I stood back to admire the roses I had just pruned, gathered up my tools and peeled off the extra layer of denim that does a superb job of protecting one from thorns […]