Andromeda Romano-Lax

I’m picky about war novels and movies (don’t even get me started about sentimental or manipulative Holocaust stories). But when I watched All Quiet on the Western Front last week, I was emotionally moved and intellectually gratified. After the final credits rolled, I wasn’t ready to let the movie go—which is exactly what director Edward […]

If you’re like me, you’ve had an inbox stuffed in recent days by newsletters about people’s resolutions or theme words for the year, and following that, by a storm tide of articles claiming that resolutions are nonsense. Trust me, this post will not be (only) about writing resolutions. But first, can I vent some mild,

This is an edited version of a blog post that ran previously on 49 Writers. “If you’re going to live your life based on delusions, and you are, because we all do, then why not at least select a delusion that is helpful? Allow me to suggest this one. The work wants to be made

This week I had a phone meeting about a writing project that has extremely long odds. The meeting itself was a blast. After the call ended, I kept checking in with my feelings, trying to imagine the disappointment I’d feel if the project fizzled. But no matter how I pressed and pinched, seeking anticipatory emotional

This week, I completed a 9-day DIY at-home writing retreat. My husband was out of town visiting a hospitalized family member, which gave me lots of time and space for the kind of purposefully unbalanced work marathon I’ve always needed, a few times per book.  I didn’t talk to myself out loud, but I did

The authors I admire the most take the biggest risks. They aren’t fearless. They experience fear and they head into the unknown anyway, feeling their way in the dark. When Michael Cunningham began writing The Hours, which started out as a contemporary retelling of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, he knew all the ways it could

Photo Caption: One of the hardest parts of the 70.3 triathlon: transitioning into the half-marathon, following the bike, with over two hours to go and legs made of lead. The trick: stay in the moment, even if the moment hurts. Last week I competed in my first 70.3 Ironman, an eight-hour triathlon. I was one

Scott H. Young, productivity expert and author of Ultralearning, which I recommend, recently blogged this in response to a reader question: “I believe motivation is a (somewhat) rational signal about the value of your activity. To feel motivated, the project needs to be high value with high certainty.” I might convince myself, on a good

It started with reading too many tweets about AWP, the enormous conference that drew 6,000 writers to Philadelphia last month. From my mother-in-law’s Toronto apartment, I saw photos of writers I admire, dressed up for a night out—wait, that author I know well knows that author I know only via her recent book, a favorite