Hi folks, I am in the process of figuring out how to make my writing more effective. If you are so inclined, please help me out by answering any or all of the following questions. You can either respond in the comment box or else send me a private email at lenleatherwood@gmail.com. Your answers can…
Category: Writing as a Discipline
A Practice in Imitation
I am experimenting with a new way to get myself unstuck in reference to a novel I’ve been working on. I have imitated the beginning of a favorite novel of mine: Snow Falling on Cedars, but have substituted one of my main characters and have changed the lines to reflect my character, not Guterson’s. Also,…
H & H in Texas in Summer
I am sitting in our Victorian in Texas, recovering from the combination of humidity, heat and excessive walking we have done today. We are still putting the finishing touches on the house across the street before it goes on the market – literally tomorrow – plus we have been preparing for a new renter who…
An Ojai Mystery
I have been AWOL for the past several days. The gist is I was dead-dog tired and needed a break after working non-stop with my student on his 20 page paper, along with my online students, plus a daughter who needed some help on something she was writing, plus, plus, plus… So, we went up…
My Writing Teacher Life…
I had students this afternoon, two of them, cousins, who are both sweet and well-mannered boys. One is going into 6th grade, the other is in college, and both need help with their writing. As it turns out, I have two more of their extended family I also see regularly, two older boys, one still…
My Day In Photos – Kaiser Permanente and the Tow Truck
Off I went today for my visit to Kaiser Permanente, which is my first foray into a HMO prompted by my $1200 monthly bills for Ray and me for a PPO offered by Blue Shield of CA with a $12,000 deductible. (Yes, you read that right.) Kaiser offered the same coverage for 1/2 the price…
2 Excellent Recipes Using Pineapple
I made two recipes today that both used canned pineapple. That doesn’t sound all that good, but both were exceptionally tasty. One was a rice salad and the other was a maple and molasses-sweetened pineapple upside-down cake. Here are the recipes. Let me know if you try these. I think you’ll like them. California Rice…
Gravity: The Film
Well, I am not going to be among those who shower lots of praise on the film, Gravity. While I thought it was very well-acted, I can’t say that it was a great movie. I wanted more exploration of the two (only) characters so that I could care more about them and their fate. As…
The Beauty of Open Spaces
I am sitting with my student and we are doing a quick-write. I have just returned from Texas – I mean I drove in from Texas exactly two hours ago. We drove from 4 am (Central time) yesterday morning until 8 pm Pacific time (which is 10 Central time) last night, which translate into 1100…
Our Fall Mini-Garden
Yesterday, I went out and bought plants for our fall garden. Here were the offerings at Anawalt Lumber in West Hollywood: These are the plants I picked, which include cilantro, two types of parsley, basil, two types of kale, Romaine lettuce, and red onions. (I could be forgetting a plant or two…) Here is the postage-stamp…
20 Minutes a Day 