I’ve been stuck , unable to write “the last chapter” of my memoir for a while now. I’ve tried tricking my brain–well, my inner critic, to be more accurate by writing short pieces that have nothing to do with the book. Or blogging. Or setting a scheduled time to write that last chapter. Every scheme to escape the Iron Maiden clutches of the inner critic has failed. Continue reading “Unzipped”
Category: Writing
Creativity Talks: On Writing a Memoir
Four days after my father passed away on May 4th, 2020, I began to write about his passing and his life. As I wrote, more memories came out… more about my mother and father meeting, about my growing up in a State Department family, about the loss of my mother, and more about the destruction of my marriage. There was so much about loss in the natural world, and about extinction–a concept that has always frightened me.
And now, a year + later, here is a whole manuscript, a memoir of loss… Continue reading “Creativity Talks: On Writing a Memoir”
Creativity Talks: Jodi Paloni, Collaging Art and Life
I was connected with Jodi Paloni when I was searching for editorial expertise on a memoir I was writing. “You’ll love working with Jodi,” said our connection. “She is into the natural world, and relationships, and loss like you are.”
The more I worked with and learned about Jodi, the more I did, indeed, love working with her. She is a poet, a writer of a lauded book of fiction, a coach and a yoga practitioner. And, I discovered, a terrific collage artist.
I wanted to know how she came to making collages. Was the experience of writing similar to the experience of making a collage? Did she see a difference in the kinds of stories she writes and the kinds of stories her collages tell? And so much more…
Continue reading “Creativity Talks: Jodi Paloni, Collaging Art and Life”
Creativity Talks: Suzanne Kingsbury, Discovering the Genius Within
During our MFA residencies at the Bennington Writing Seminars, I often noticed a tall, radiant woman. She was in the fiction cohort, so I didn’t work with her, but I always noticed her because of her aura. I called her “The Siren,” because she seemed blessed with an unflagging, joyous spirit.
After graduation, Suzanne founded Gateless Writing, a national organization based on creative brain science and ancient Zen that supports writers to the point of publication and beyond.
I recently caught up with her to learn more about her inspiration for founding the organization, and about her creative process…
Continue reading “Creativity Talks: Suzanne Kingsbury, Discovering the Genius Within”
Keeping the Yarn Moving
Sometimes my daily life is doing, not writing about doing. This past month was pretty much doing: I’ve been knitting like a whirlwind. Socks for a friend; a hat for a COSTCO clerk who liked my hat so much that I had to make her one of her own; 4 tightly-knit birds nests for a North Carolina waterfowl rescue group who had put an SOS for them. Continue reading “Keeping the Yarn Moving”
Hand-written: You, from the Heart.
I’ve been writing about the therapeutic benefits of making things by hand, but I’d neglected one thing we do–or, used to do–by hand: writing. Writing by hand, like other hand-done activities, confers both emotional and creative benefits. We should take a moment to appreciate hand writing and what it does for us. Continue reading “Hand-written: You, from the Heart.”
Why Make Things When You Could Buy Them?
In this “Digital Age” where we have no patience for things that take time, and where we can easily find whatever we might want on a computer, it may seem Amish, quaint, and/or silly to be encouraged to make something with your own two hands. Why should we make things? Continue reading “Why Make Things When You Could Buy Them?”