If you don’t have enough time to write—who does?—read this. Do you have a “portable process?” That’s what prolific author Julianna Baggott — twenty books published under three names — calls it. Her advice resonates with something I’ve done on and off for years but underutilized until I made the process more deliberate. “Portable process” doesn’t mean […]
On Mother’s Day, David Sedaris made a sold-out appearance in the 900 seat house at Juneau Douglas High School. A humorist—a writer—filling the biggest house we have in our small town in Alaska was somehow reassuring. After reading for about an hour, mostly funny, some overtly political (he was in a friendly crowd), and a
Whether in person or via social media, I can’t help but hear a common refrain of late. Similar discussions all related to media pieces that focus on silly distractions and spectacle created purposefully to keep people from focusing on the real issues at hand. I want to suggest that within that very refrain, while the
Guest Blogger Don Rearden | Make Art Not More Content Read More »
Last year and the year before, I invested in do-it-yourself writing residencies. Don’t get me wrong: I love and appreciate writing residency programs. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been awarded four, all of which granted up to a month of a free and comfortable space to do nothing but write, and read, and daydream,
Guest Blogger Cinthia Ritchie | Should You Consider a DIY Writing Residency? Read More »
Two summers ago, I failed spectacularly at almost every writing project I attempted. I failed at my novel rewrite, opting to not follow my editor’s suggestions (because, you know, even though she was at a major house and even though I’m just a skinny Alaskan, I was sure that I knew more than she did).
Guest Blogger Cinthia Ritchie | How Following a Training Plan Improved my Writing Read More »
The following essay was written by Kim Stafford, the poet William Stafford’s son. Kim is an amazing author and teacher in his own right, and if you haven’t read either Muses Among Us: Eloquent Listening and Other Pleasures of the Writer’s Craft, or 100 Tricks Every Boy Can Do: A Memoir, I suggest you correct that error
Four Elements of a Daily Writing Page in William Stafford’s Practice Read More »
Welcome to the busiest time of the year. The stretch between Thanksgiving and the end of the year is always filled with more responsibility (either festive or otherwise) and more distraction. It would be easy to dismiss the entire month of December as a “do not write zone.” Sure, if you just finished NaNoWriMo and
