Happy Monday, everybody! Reflections on my first day of retirement....
Rereading
I’m rereading Bird By Bird, a book by Anne Lamott. The subtitle is “Some Instructions About Writing and Life.” Lamott is a writer and writing teacher who lives in California, somewhat neurotic, very funny and a good follow on Facebook. This book is about what it means to be a writer—the work and mindset...
A Great Honor And An Awesome Responsibility
For a few minutes yesterday, I had the most important job in the world. I had the great honor of officiating at the wedding of my nephew David and his love, Amanda. My role in the wedding was to write, and say, a few words, which will soon be forgotten. My real responsibility was...
500 Words
I’m not a big advice-giver, but if I’ve ever given you advice, it might be this: Keep a journal. By this, I mean make a daily habit of writing something, whatever you feel like writing. Write down your dreams, your plans, your fears, your obsessions, or even just what you’re having for dinner. You...
Questions For The Author
Author Jonathan Franzen, in the essay “On Autobiographical Fiction,” part of his 2012 collection Farther Away, writes that whenever a novelist gives a public talk or reading, he or she is invariably asked four “unpleasant questions.” They are, he writes “apparently the price we have to pay for the pleasure of appearing in public.” The...