I’ve been thinking about how to be resilient this weekend, how to bounce back from challenges and setbacks. On one day, you encounter obstacles and the stresses of life. Stuff that’s important that may not work out. Important stuff. So what helps us recover?
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Last week my husband flew to Ireland for work. It was not a hopeful Monday, more like sad Sunday. He travels once every couple of months and when he’s gone, we feel a slight tension in our family. Overall, we’re fine and with my three kids being older, it’s easier now than it used to be, but we still feel the absence. And inside the absence, a strange quiet yearning exists. We go on with school and work and home […]
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A writer works to perfect their art or craft and tries to share it with the world, only to often meet with rejection or indifference. The attempt can be a failure. We can feel like losers. But tennis player Stan Wawrinka has an interesting perspective on failure. What he had to say is my quote of the week.
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Bird by Bird is an outstanding craft book for writers. Novelist and memoirist Ann Lamott covers the various aspects of writing: the nuts and bolts of craft to broader, more abstract issues. She talks about the importance of getting the sh*tty first draft on paper before diving into the mechanics of plot, dialogue, character, etc. She tackles perfectionism, finding your voice, and the let downs of publication. It’s a wise and witty manual for any writer, experienced or not. I highly recommend it.
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I’m a super fan of Neil Gaiman. Not only do I love his stories but I love his prose and I love the upstanding man he is. He broke through in his career with the urban fantasy Neverwhere and has most recently given us the darkly witty Norse Mythology. What I admire about him is he’s a genius who doesn’t think he’s a genius. He just writes from a place of inspiration and ends up entertaining the world. I came […]
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