Writers need other writers.  I'm seeing this in action today, as my weekly book-writing class pairs off to exchange feedback on their st...

Scan any writers' magazine, browse any writers' website, and you read about Master of Fine Arts programs.  Are MFA programs all they...

I've been reading Amy Bloom's new book, Where the God of Love Hangs Out, a collection of interrelated short stories that form a sort...

I was in my forties when I experienced my first up-close-and-personal death.  Elderly relatives passed away when I was younger, but I was yo...

I first learned about short self-assignments from Natalie Goldberg's well-known Writing Down the Bones.  Goldberg introduced the concept...

Albert Camus said a wonderful thing about why we write or paint or dance or make music: "A person's life purpose is nothing more th...

It's gardening time in New England--despite the 20 degree weather we had last week that left my kale seedlings gasping--and I'm spen...

In my attempt to understand the balances and imbalances of the creative life, I've signed up for some e-newsletters. One of my favorit...

How recently have you cracked open your heart? One of my favorite--and riskiest--writing classes to teach is called "Writing through ...

It's a rainy Saturday and I'm teaching at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. Outside, trees are in full leaf, lilacs are bloo...