I’ve been trying to figure out where the notion of the writer’s life as glamorous got its start. I know as a kid, I thought being a writer was something special, probably because then as now, I read a great deal. What I read astonished me. I was impressed and enraptured by writers' ability to … [Read more...] about Non-Writing Writers
What Keeps Me From Writing?
If the World Were About to End
If my husband learned the world was about to end, or that he only had a short time to live, he'd stuff some chocolate in his mouth. Then he'd assemble all the sweets we have in the house and go out and stock up on some more. Under similar circumstances, though, I'd hasten to get my hot (and I do … [Read more...] about If the World Were About to End
What Keeps Me From Writing? The Fire Within, Part 1
Sitting across from each other in her large, disordered office and wearing almost matching sleeveless dresses, the library director and I ignore the fact that my dress is clinging to my chest and my skin is glazed with perspiration. It’s a breezeless August day, and the air conditioning is on the … [Read more...] about What Keeps Me From Writing? The Fire Within, Part 1
What Keeps Me From Writing? The Fire Within, Part 2
Feeble Counter-Measures I have tried all the known methods for minimizing hot flashes. I take deep breaths to calm myself while grasping an icy beverage when a hot flash threatens. I eat tofu, lentils, and garbanzo beans, drizzle flaxseed on my food, and drink one cup of coffee in the morning. I … [Read more...] about What Keeps Me From Writing? The Fire Within, Part 2
What Keeps Me From Writing? False Starts
Not in my writing projects. Although I have changed the opening of my memoir, My Mother's Money—or Almost an Heiress—6 times. (I'm still shuffling the pages back and forth between two sections, weighing which one has the stronger hook.) I'm talking about the many times in the past two and a half … [Read more...] about What Keeps Me From Writing? False Starts
What Keeps Me From Writing? Gourmet Food
This time last week I was arguing with a salmon. The Whole Foods butcher had boned it nicely, but left some unappealing tan flesh attached to its underside. I was struggling to scrape that off before chopping the fish into chunks for a soup I was making. I had already cleaned the sand from between … [Read more...] about What Keeps Me From Writing? Gourmet Food
What Keeps Me From Writing? My Furniture
No, not my home office furniture. That would keep me from writing, but my dear friend Ava just gave me her husband’s ergonomic office chair. It was a conversation with Ava that made me aware that, although I’m not a “neat freak” by any stretch of anyone’s imagination, housecleaning takes up a lot … [Read more...] about What Keeps Me From Writing? My Furniture