His story is simultaneously inspiring and horrifying. After ten years in the rat-race of London, James Rhodes returned to his true passion, the piano. He dedicated himself to achieving the mastery he had dreamed of as a youth. And now, after years of dedication and hard work, James is a concert pianist. In his essay […]
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Tag Archives: Creative nonfiction
Avoiding ‘Truthiness’ When Writing Your Life
March 25, 2013 
185 Comments
“Did that really happen?” It’s a question every memoirist and personal essayist faces. Ideally the writer will answer “Yes.” It gets awkward when you have to say, “Yes, but…” In the October 2005 debut episode of his influential TV show, Stephen Colbert gave the world the word truthiness. He said truthiness is when you’re talking […]
Read moreWhat Leads You to Choose the Next Book You’ll Read?
February 5, 2013 30 Comments
I’m grateful to The Washington Post for publishing on Saturday my letter to the editor. My beef was with the paper’s nonfiction book reviews. With novels, the reviewers break down both the story and the writing. But far too often, for nonfiction books The Post recruits an expert in the field, who then critiques the […]
Read moreMFA Nugget: Are You an ‘Ear’ or an ‘Eye’ Writer?
January 1, 2013 19 Comments
MONTPELIER, VERMONT — Do you write with your eyes or with your ears? I write with my fingers–it’s a lot easier to type or grip a pen–but sarcasm aside, I learned a good insight on creative writing in my workshop here at my MFA in Writing residency at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. It […]
Read moreMFA Nugget: Struggling with Immersion
December 30, 2012 17 Comments
MONTPELIER, VERMONT: I’m here at my fourth MFA in Writing residency at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, physically at least. I’ve already attended a lecture and a three-faculty reading, consumed a moderately acceptable dining-hall meal, and signed up for a student reading (I’m up the night of the 3rd). But I feel disconnected, in […]
Read more3 Steps For Creative Writers to Tell it Slant
December 10, 2012 20 Comments
Who’s up for a little creative insight from Emily Dickinson? Tell all the Truth but tell it slant Success in Circuit lies too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth’s superb surprise As Lightning to the Children eased With explanation kind The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind When I started my […]
Read moreStruggling with the Supposed Distinction of Literary vs. Commercial
December 4, 2012 13 Comments
In three weeks I will drive to Montpelier, Vermont, to begin my final semester in an MFA in Writing program. Over the last few weeks I have devoted every spare minute to polishing the first draft of my work-in-progress–a travel memoir–so that I can hand the manuscript to whichever faculty member I am paired with […]
Read moreGuest Post: Shaping a Heart
August 24, 2012 16 Comments
Is your creativity guided more when given structure or chaos? An overly simple query, perhaps, but a topic that has generated some compelling discussions here at The Artist’s Road. Today I’m offering a beautiful new contribution to the discussion from guest blogger Callie Feyen. Callie is a blogger, an MFA student, a freelance writer, a […]
Read moreWhat Can We Learn from Nonfiction Writers Who Make Things Up?
August 3, 2012 33 Comments
There has been a tremendous amount of digital ink spilled this week on the fall of writing wunderkind Jonah Lehrer, whose book Imagine: How Creativity Works, it was revealed this week, contains fabricated quotes of Bob Dylan. Lehrer’s publisher has pulled the book. His employer, The New Yorker, has accepted his resignation. And people like […]
Read moreWho Has Your Creativity Sold Out?
April 27, 2012 71 Comments
Is your creativity selling out someone in your life? Joan Didion famously wrote that “writers are always selling somebody out.” Songwriters, painters, novelists and other creatives channel their life experiences when producing their art. Take my post on Tuesday, in which I passed along advice I heard at a recent writer’s conference about building a […]
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