I am preparing for my 1.5 hour presentation this upcoming weekend at the Story Circle Network National Memoir Conference in Austin, Texas. My subject is: “Transforming Your Writing Life in Just 20 Minutes a Day.” I have been reading several books in preparation for my presentation. One is If You Want to Write by Brenda…

I am sitting here at 9:39 on Sunday evening, sleepy and tired after a wonderful weekend of merrymaking centered on the 1st birthday of my granddaughter, Luna, and all I really want to do is go upstairs, take a bath and go to bed. Instead, I have my blog to write since I have made…

Inspired by Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, our survey of established authors’ tips for successful authorship continues Hilary Mantel, Michael Moorcock, Michael Morpurgo, Andrew Motion, Joyce Carol Oates, Annie Proulx, Philip Pullman, Ian Rankin, Will Self, Helen Simpson, Zadie Smith, Colm Tóibín, Rose Tremain, Sarah Waters, Jeanette Winterson Hilary Mantel 1 Are you serious…

Get an accountant, abstain from sex and similes, cut, rewrite, then cut and rewrite again – if all else fails, pray. Inspired by Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, we asked authors for their personal dos and don’ts Elmore Leonard, Diana Athill, Margaret Atwood, Roddy Doyle, Helen Dunmore, Geoff Dyer, Anne Enright, Richard Ford, Jonathan…

A year ago tomorrow our beloved Luna Isabella, our granddaughter, was born. Here are a few pictures to chronicle that time: Mom and Dad at the hospital early on April 4th, 2013: Luna shortly after birth: Luna, the next day, feeling a bit more relaxed:   Luna, Mom and Dad the next day, April 5th,…

The room is very quiet. Ray is already in bed, probably asleep, though I hear the television on upstairs. It is a faint, but I can hear voices and know that at this hour Ray is not on the phone. Cordelia is curled up in a nearby chair, asleep. She occasionally opens her eyes and…

This letter was written to one of my writing students who has just completed the first draft of her very fine novel and who is now embarking on the second phase of the novel-writing endeavor: revision. I have served as her writing coach for this process and this has been a deeply bonding experience for…