The Cards You’re Dealt
Knowing what to do with the cards in our hand may not be as efficacious as being able to determine what they are, but it’s a hell of a lot better than just giving up because you don’t like them.
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Thoughts
Essays and reflections on writing, culture, history, community, and the ideas that stay with us.
Crisis Creativity: Creating When the World Is Falling Apart
With so much going on, creativity can either thrive or vanish.
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Language and Racism
I am a white woman who grew up not only with white privilege but with economic privilege as well. And until fairly recently, I’ve also been something of a curmudgeon when it comes to language usage and grammar. That’s not a very good combination.
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What’s on YOUR Bookshelf?
A well-stocked bookshelf has become the essential videoconferencing prop. Who among us hasn’t scanned the titles of books used in background shots?
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We Need Murder Mysteries More Than Ever Now
We love murder mysteries because they are redemptive, they give us hope, and help us move from fear to reassurance.
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The Rise of the “Cozy” Mystery
The amateur who figures out the crime does so through the understanding of human nature and motivation.
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How Much Is Enough?
We have enough, and our lives are good enough, and that is a very grand achievement.
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Why Reading in a Pandemic Is Life Itself
Which is why reading now, and continuing to read, is a radical act. It means caring about other people.
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Where Do You Write?
How much does where we write affect what we write? What’s your ideal environment? Some famous authors have been pretty eccentric with theirs…
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Fasting and Social Justice
Growth and change never come from a place of comfort, and fasting keeps us uncomfortable, forcing us to think about consumption and privilege.
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How Kintsugi Made Me a Better Writer
Instead of trying to hide them, Kintsugi calls attention to the break lines made by time, rough use, or accident.
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Sydney Riley’s Guide to Wine
These fruity red wines are delicious and easy to drink right away—and that’s what, for Sydney, good wine is all about: easy-drinking, food-loving wines that are perfect for everyday consumption.
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The Apocalypse Will Be Broadcast in Slow Motion
Ah, Chernobyl. Look at images of it today. Watch the excellent HBO series. The United States’ response to the coronavirus is clearly taken from the Soviet playbook. Congratulations, tovarish.
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We Are the Hurricane
What we’re not good at is realizing in this time of plague that the storm isn’t somewhere out there. That we don’t need to protect ourselves from wind and waves, but from each other. That, this time around, we are the hurricane.
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Writing in a Time of Quarantine
What does the writer do? Describe the forlorn bit of newsprint one saw blowing down an empty street?
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The Nonfiction Book Proposal: A Quickstart Guide
When you’re writing the proposal, you’re actually writing the book itself; the rest is just time and effort, as opposed to decisions and creativity.
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What You Do... Or Who You Are?
I guess I’m the exception to that rule. I am a writer. It’s not just what I do to earn a living, it’s who I am.
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Writing Classes Are Now Open!
Are you ready for something new? Let’s cap off the winter with a new writing class… everything from mysteries to grammar, from memoir to historical fiction, we have it here!
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Is There Such a Thing as Writer’s Block?
Most writers think they’re struggling with their writing when what they’re actually struggling with is their thinking.
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Where Do Ideas Come From?
I think every author is influenced by what’s happening around them, by their own lives and the lives of others on a very daily, very granular level.
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