Creative Compassion

Creative Compassion

“The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.” —Meryl Streep

A neighbor in my apartment building questioned me about my work recently after I mumbled I must get back to my writing. Initially I was very frugal with my comments trying not to tell her more than she’d ever wanted to know. But it quickly became evident that she was intrigued by the research, the ‘history’ part of ‘historical fiction’. As we agreed on the blessings of technology which aids and abets the contemporary author’s exploration, I nevertheless expressed my frustration over how much is too much. I told her the novel I’m working on now suffers from an embarrassment of riches supporting the huge life of an eighteenth century French composer who happened to also be a world champion fencer; and swimmer, and skater, and horseman; to say nothing of his skill with a pistol remarked on by our own president John Adams while serving as ambassador to France.

So what’s an author to do when the glut of accolades for her character blocks the necessary empathy a reader needs to stay interested? What good is the research without the imperfections the character needs to make us feel he’s human? Continue Reading

Burdens of Privilege

Burdens of Privilege

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” —Plutarch It was over a decade ago that I sat in my first writers’ workshop at the Stonybrook Writers’ Conference. The almost round tables were configured to promote emotional connectivity and support, all good things when one’s writing is being… Continue Reading

Women of Ingenuity

Women of Ingenuity

“My failures have been errors in judgment, not of intent.” Ulysses S. Grant In true one-thing-leads-to-another fashion, an interview online recently with Drew Gilpin Faust about her memoir Necessary Trouble, led me to another book she’d written, Mothers of Invention. Having grown up in the South herself, Faust has a unique perspective on the idiosyncrasies… Continue Reading

The Artist’s Prerogative

The Artist’s Prerogative

“…and writing is, in the end, that oddest of anomalies: an intimate letter to a stranger.”~ Pico Iyer We’ve heard an enormous amount recently about the pandemic of loneliness sweeping much of the world today. For the most part, the reasons for it seem to stem from the breakdown of community, and therefor human connections.… Continue Reading