writer's block
June 12, 2009
- (NOTE: Most human interaction is not a lot of fun. There are few people you can impress while wearing tattered jeans and a tee shirt, but their numbers increase thanks to social networking. Appearances need no longer be a worry thanks to the new killer apps. Hooray! Go wild and slip into the slinky, daring, and revealing before you approach the keyboard. No one will ever know, especially after ...
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June 9, 2009
- Last week I was enduring a kind of low period, my writing (I felt) in something of a rut...and, in one of those fortuitous accidents (synchronicity, anyone?), happened to pick up a copy of the surrealist classic The Automatic Message (Atlas Press), which I had ordered from the U.K. some time ago. For those of you unaware of this book, it is a collection of surreal writings from luminaries like ...
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June 8, 2009
- This Lightning-blasted Tree Reminds Me of God's Power. “In God we trust” appears on our currency. These words are controversial. They prompt some people to fight for their removal, while others insist that they belong on our money and everywhere else. I ask: Do we trust God? If so, which one? I’ll explain. I recently had a flamboyant lesson in paying attention. Paying attention ...
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June 3, 2009
- Starting about two years ago I went through a period where I was late on every single project I had under contract. And not just a few days, or a few weeks, or even a few months late. We're talking really late, as in moving a book from one year to the next and a couple of publishers sending me "or else" letters.Being late had never been a problem for me. In fact, I believe I owe a great ...
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May 30, 2009
- ... At least it always works for me. I generally freeze up when I’m afraid I don’t have the chops for whatever the job is: an article that requires synthesizing interviews about a topic I don’t feel totally in control of (especially if one of the people I spoke to intimidated me); a book chapter whose concepts are so complex that I fear I’ll never be able to fit them together in a ...
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May 4, 2009
- I'm going to illustrate this blog post with a simple tale springing from ranch life. This is a true story, obviously, since those are photos. This is The Day Corcovado Learned to Load and Unload from a Trailer. Note that the horse is not freaking out, pitching a fit, or tramping his handlers. No, Corco is doing something more effective. He's adopted The Mule Stance. My mind ...
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April 28, 2009
- Conception….1 Impregnated with a virgin thought I had begun writing. The thought formed the head first then the obscure limbs over the months, when ever I could feed it with time and thought to write. The manuscript done I felt at last I have conceived well. Recently I took out the manuscript for a quick scan. Omigosh! What do I see? It’s just a skeleton of my darling baby. Now once again ...
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March 31, 2009
- We all contend with the world in various ways, but one thing that's particular to artists/writers is the degree to which we contend with ourselves. In a time/space slot during which you're supposed to achieve your creative goals, the demon of Self-doubt rears its head. You do something, try something, and then the internal voices start asking: is this any good? Is anyone else going to ...
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March 4, 2009
- This week I got to the end of the second book, a memoir. At least in terms of the 25-year-long story of friendship I wanted to tell. It's just the first draft and a rewrite is definitely required. However, it's a huge accomplishment and represents seven months of solid writing, with a year of outlining and research before that.I feel great, and at the same time, a wonderful inevitability ...
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February 19, 2009
- This is not going to be a funny post. I'm just warning you.My book deadline is bearing down on me, while at the same time, my day job is beyond crazy.I'm kind of screwed. At night, I try to write for at least an hour a night, but then I feel guilty because I'm not doing "work" work. But when I do work, I feel guilty for not writing.On top of that, I feel like I'm neglecting my husband ...
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