Each choice we make, each change we bring into our lives, requires a certain level of attention.  Normal activities that are in a groove req...

My new book, Your Book Starts Here, is now a finalist for the New Hampshire Literary Awards in the nonfiction category.  Pretty thrilling! ...

I'm on a writing sabbatical this week so I'm rerunning a favorite post from December 2009--hope you enjoy it! Still life--may be n...

In mid-summer, my writing often takes a dive.  I feel the laziness of summertime and don't really want to work on anything, much less do...

Novelist and short-story writer Stuart Dybek ( Coast of Chicago ) was interviewed in Novel Voices about unique approaches to writing a book...

One of my favorite quotes about showing versus telling comes from Anton Chekhov, who wrote, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the ...

Writing teachers often cite the trio of event, character, and setting:  major elements to keep track of in your manuscript.  This trio is ke...

I am packing my suitcases this week, wondering about where to fit my writing.  Clothes, check.  Great book, check.  Camera, check.  Teaching...

There's a place in every book where all the assembled objects begin to balance.  They have slowly come together through many pages and ...

I am sharing a post I wrote last summer, because my Madeline Island retreat is coming up again in July, and I remembered this wonderful expe...