Category Archives: Inspiration & Motivation

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 critiqued by colleagues. For the most part, I never had any negative experiences that burn in my memory, but once in a while I had positive ones I still carry with me and enjoy remembering when I sit down to write.

One of my earliest good memories was when a student asked me if I knew Marilynne Robinson’s work, adding that my writing reminded him of hers; a suggestion, sadly, that couldn’t have been then, or now, further from the truth. What I wouldn’t give to have the flow of her words as well as her brain for myself! Naturally, I immediately set out to study her work which didn’t change my own writing any, but gave me enormous pleasure. And along that path I found that as much as I loved her novels, I became even more besotted with her essays, all of which guide the reader through complex and significant thoughts with such ease that I feel as if they literally blaze new trails in my neurons.

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

Warp and Weft

Warp and Weft

“We don’t accomplish anything in this world alone… and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something.”—Sandra Day O’Connor For many years, I’ve considered layering in writing as a process much akin to that in the visual… Continue Reading

Badass!

Badass!

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.-John C. Maxwell How can a word used to describe someone have such different meanings depending on the gender of the one being defined? That just proves how much discrimination there is in society’s expectations for its different members. I’ve focused… Continue Reading

Open Invitation

Open Invitation

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien Some powerful examples of the serendipity and discovery of research dropped in my lap recently with the announcement that the man who occupied much of my last book, Tried As Silver, and was an implied romantic connection for the protagonist (we’ll never really know), had… Continue Reading