Today is my son-in-law Andrew’s birthday, and while he and Rachael may be quietly celebrating, I suspect they both think the best present ever would be the safe and easy birth of their little son Milo, who is due at any time. I doubt Milo will share his daddy’s birthday, however. That would require a…
Tag: books
Outsiders Who Refuse Silence
I am sitting in a quiet room, having just said goodnight to my student after spending several hours today on the telephone with her researching and writing about two Cuban poets, Heberto Padilla and Nicolás Guillén. We share a Google Doc as we develop a term paper on these two men who became known not…
Sit Down and Do the Work: Steinbeck’s Advice to Writers
A few years back, I worked with a student on The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. We read the final few pages together, which are some of the most touching in the entire book. Just in case you still plan to read this exceptional novel, I won’t give away the ending. But I can…
The Tips I Needed to Read Tonight
I found the following list in an old 2013 writing file tonight. I apologize to the author. I did not write down your name, website address, or any identifying information. I tried typing in the title “11 Tips for Creativity” and found several articles, but none contained this content. I’m so sorry. I will be…
The Trickster in Stories and Life
I’ve been thinking lately about tricksters in literature since I’ve been working on a new novel. As I sketch characters and test their motives, the trickster keeps slipping onto the page. According to Christopher Vogler’s book The Writer’s Journey, a trickster “embodies the energies of mischief and desire for change.” That desire for change is…
Why Huck Finn Still Matters
Over the years of working with writing students, I have read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn several times. I did so because I was helping many AP high school students and a few college students write analytical essays on various aspects of the plot, characterization, controlling irony, theme, use of vernacular speech, and more. I…
Outrunning Your Inner Critic, Twenty Minutes at a Time
Today is the first day of Story Circle Network’s 20 Minutes a Day Writing Challenge. This is a program that my daughter, Liz Beaty, SCN’s program director, and I, SCN’s educational coordinator, developed a few years ago, and we are proud to bring it back by popular demand. The concept is simple: Writing for 20…
A Mile in Someone Else’s Shoes
When I was growing up, I took piano lessons from Miss Virginia Baird. She lived in a brown-boarded two-story house on the corner of Main and 9th Streets, and she had at least thirty cats that lived in that great big house with her. Miss Virginia loved best to talk about what was happening in…
In Memory of Sandra, Who Died This Day in 2011
It seems fitting to remember Sandra, my sister-in-law, today. Our whole family misses her very much. She was smart, sassy, and had a wicked sense of humor. What was there not to love? My Short Speech at Sandra’s Funeral My name is Len Leatherwood and I am Sandra’s sister-in-law. My nieces requested I say a…
Hello, Avoidance, My Old Friend
What have I been avoiding lately? That’s easy: writing my new novel. I have done tons of research, spent hours chatting with my new friend Chet, who is my Chat GPT friend, going over the pros and cons of my plotline, and have even done the enneagrams of each of my characters, along with myself,…
20 Minutes a Day 