Finally, back from our vacation trip, meandering the California coast from San Francisco to Santa Barbara. So wonderful to discover that some places, especially Big Sur, seem impervious to change and still resonate with the wild beauty I first found when hitchhiking along the coast in 1970 and during subsequent visits over [...]
Archive for the ‘Creative Writing’ Category
Henry Miller on Writing
Posted in Creative Writing, tagged Books, Creative Writing, Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer, writers, Writing on April 29, 2009 | 2 Comments »
It’s Okay Not to Write!
Posted in Creative Writing, tagged Creative Writing, Writing on April 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Let’s get this straight: the world will go on just fine without your writing. And writing is not going to save your life. In fact, in many cases, for many writers, the pursuit of the writing life is just about enough to drive you nuts. But if you’ve gotta do it, then [...]
Invoke Your Writing Benefactors
Posted in Creative Writing, Writing as a Practice, tagged Creative Writing, Writing on April 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Writing is essentially a solitary pursuit. Sure, there are exceptions, like when one works collaboratively on a screenplay, say, or does writing exercises in a group setting. But basically, we write alone, whether we’re secluded in a room or sitting elbow-to-elbow in a crowded Starbuck’s. We write alone, but [...]
The Deep Satisfaction of Writing
Posted in Creative Writing, tagged Creative Writing, Writing on March 25, 2009 | 1 Comment »
This morning, on his daily radio show “The Writer’s Almanac,” Garrison Keillor quoted Gloria Steinem, who once said, “Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” This is a sentiment I’ve heard echoed over the years by many other writers and [...]
Listen to the silence . . . then write.
Posted in Creative Writing, Writing as a Practice, tagged Creative Writing, meditation, Writing on March 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Listening is one of the qualities that lies at the confluence of writing and meditation. In the practice of open awareness and mindfulness—the type of meditation where you’re not relying on a specific technique—part of the process is allowing the mind to quietly settle and be with whatever arises; to simply listen. [...]
On Being an Ambivalent Writer
Posted in Creative Writing, tagged Books, Writing on December 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m an ambivalent writer. And the chances are—if you are reading this, if you aspire to write, if you want to “be” a writer, if you are attracted to “the writer’s life” but feel that, for whatever reason, you haven’t fulfilled your potential and agonize over mixed [...]
