It is one of my greatest fears. I have abandoned my creativity before; this blog is my chronicle of returning to an art-committed life and working to stay there. That is also a central theme of the travel memoir I am in the process of polishing to final. But it is so easy to drift away […]
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Tag Archives: Creative writing
A Pearl of Wisdom for Fiction Writers
May 2, 2013 
6 Comments
Allow me to share with you a nugget for my readers who are fiction writers. This is from an essay on the great Victorian novelist George Eliot by Joseph Epstein, from his recently published essay collection Essays in Biography: One of the modern fiction workshop laws is that a writer should always show and never […]
Read moreFive Keys to Living an Art-Committed Life
April 30, 2013 35 Comments
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 […]
Read moreA Model for Feedback on Your Creative Work
April 4, 2013 28 Comments
“Writing is a solitary pursuit,” said award-winning author Robin Hemley, explaining why he has “no patience” for belonging to a writer’s group. You might argue that Robin has reached a level in his career where he doesn’t need feedback from other writers. He is an accomplished writer of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. He directs the […]
Read moreA Round-Up of Resources for AWP 2013
February 27, 2013 6 Comments
With 11,000 creative writers about to descend upon Boston for the 2013 Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) annual conference, it’s not surprising that some of those writers have written online posts providing guidance and advice. I’ve collected a few below. If you’re planning on attending this year’s AWP from March 6-9, feel free […]
Read moreThe Role of the AWP Conference in a Creative Writer’s Evolution
February 15, 2013 13 Comments
I’ve booked my flight and hotel for this year’s Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference in Boston, Massachusetts. I’m in Beantown from Wednesday, March 6th to Saturday the 9th, a very short time to take in all of the workshops, readings, receptions, and of course, the massive trade show floor with just about […]
Read moreImposing Deadlines on Your Work-In-Progress
February 12, 2013 42 Comments
One of the challenges of an art-committed life is that to produce quality art, you must meet deadlines. Sometimes those deadlines are self-imposed, with no fatal consequences befalling you if they are not met. I find myself wrestling with that challenge right now, as I look ahead to the finish line with my work-in-progress, a […]
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 more5 Keys to Success for Aspiring Writers (Not) to Follow
January 29, 2013 40 Comments
Today’s post is inspired by an award-winning fantasy and science fiction author I interviewed during my cross-country road trip, Michael Swanwick. For a time in the early 2000′s he played a character online by the name of “Unca Mike,” who took a different approach to writing advice: Most writing columns offer sound and useful advice […]
Read moreA Creative Writer Braves the Inauguration
January 23, 2013 17 Comments
This is not a post about politics. It is about a creative writer struggling to maintain an art-committed life. The story begins with a trip to the second Inauguration of President Barack Obama. I was one of approximately 500,000 people to make my way to Washington, D.C.’s National Mall Monday to witness the ceremony. I […]
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