-
A tale of three arborists
A few weeks back, I needed a couple of skinny trees taken down, and a couple of trees limbed (dead branches removed). A small job, all things considered. The first arborist came out a week after I called and sent a quote a day later: $2900. Ouch. I asked around, as I have a few…
-
Editing as art form
I was several years into my career as a book editor when I realized editing is an art form, as much as painting or acting or writing. So, as an editor, that makes me an artist. How did this realization change how I edit? More respect for my craft: If editors had a dollar for…
-
A gift guide for the writers in your life
Here are the books I turn to again and again for writing support: A few books that inspire me and that I regularly re-read: + anything by John McPhee, George Saunders, and John Irving Writers always need supplies, and you don’t need to drop a bunch of dough. I like dollar store composition notebooks (with…
-
Do you have to write every day to be a writer?
I know writers who’ve worked on books in chunks for years—pick them up, put them down. Those who wrote them in a long weekend sprint each month and finished in a few months. Those who wrote slowly over years, then took a sabbatical to finish (right here). One writer I know drafted her book in…
-
Reviews vs blurbs: a fish study
Today, over a lunch of fried mackerel cooked by my dad, the Frying Irishman, I read aloud the latest blurbs for my upcoming book, Tracking Giants. (I do this with every blurb. It’s very exciting! We are a theatrical family.) “Now,” said studious Dad, “what’s a blurb? Is that a review? I believe your book…
-
“If I’m not making art, am I still an artist?”
That’s one of the questions that emerged from the workshop Kerri Twigg and I ran this weekend. Our offering, How to Hold Space for Creative Expression, was geared toward finding and nurturing your inner artist. Kerri and I introduced a range of practices—from mindfulness, drama, and writing—to tap into making art in the everyday. We weren’t concerned…
-
In praise of working one on one
“And are we working in a group, or one on one?” she asked. “Entirely one on one,” I said. “Just you and me. The early stages of a book are so vulnerable. I think it’s better to shape the idea and protect it before sharing it with others in a group. I’ll be with you,…
-
Finding your place in the Universe of Content
Writers are sponges. When they become interested in a subject, they absorb everything related to the topic. The process can be a bit, let’s say, obsessive. They start telling others about their interest, and additional articles and books head their way. Author and journalist Sam Anderson, in a recent interview with Longform, said, “I love…
-
Writing a memoir? Here’s a quick edit you likely need to make.
Most of life is procedural: I got up, made coffee, hopped on a Zoom call with Suzanne… You don’t need it. Connect with the elements of your life that will impact your reader. For example, I’m working on a travel memoir about pilgrimage in Japan. The writer is covering two multi-week trips to Japan, as…
-
How do you know when you’ve achieved your short-term writing goals?
The visual artist Lisa Congdon, in her book Find Your Artistic Voice, makes the case that artists are unique in how they set and achieve goals. “Many athletes,” she writes, “set performance goals that are measurable and easily comparable to other athletes in the same sport based on set standards: number of goals scored, seconds…
