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SIGNATURE MOVE, AND WHY YOU NEED ONE

April 26, 2021 by

A signature move is something expected, predictable. It’s an identifiable characteristic. You’ve got a signature move whether you know it or not. Ask someone. We used to watch the biggest fight in the world on free TV when Muhammad Ali was The Greatest. Once he dropped an opponent, up when his arms. That was his […]

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HEMINGWAY LIFE STORY BEST OF ALL TIME

April 7, 2021 by

The Hemingway life story by Ken Burns is a sure sign, but of what? That he grew up in what amounts to a fundamentalist family? With a mother that logged all of her sacrifices for him? Then held it against him? Add a father with well defined ideas on how to behave. And Ernest disappointed […]

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WHY WRITERS BELIEVE IN READERS? IT TAKES BOTH

March 21, 2021 by

Writers believe the time they spend on their work is worthwhile. Opinions from others vary. Of course writers believe, but is their opinion the one that matters? After days and years of focus on a project, they’d better believe in their work. One sage said to choose a writing topic you love, because you’ll eventually […]

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WRITING ROOM: FROM FAMILY ROOM TO SICK ROOM AND BACK

March 10, 2021 by

A writing room is any room where writing is done. It’s a bedroom, a classroom, or living room. It could be a bar or coffee house; a bus or train. Some writing rooms belong to writers who need ‘consistency of place’ to be productive. How can you be sure your writing room is right for […]

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BASIC WRITER QUESTION: WHY BOTHER

July 13, 2020 by

The best writer question is the one they ask themselves before starting their daily word haul. It’s a question writers never want readers to ask, so they ask themselves: Why bother? Here’s why:

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WRITERS WORK TO EXPLAIN WITHOUT BEING A JERK

May 29, 2020 by

Writers work, readers read, and somewhere between the two an agreement happens. Sometimes the agreement includes a reader who stops reading while the writer keeps writing. That’s what writers do. Readers look for the next story, something more worthy of their time. Then this happened:

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WRITING LIFE LOOKS FOR SMOKING WRITERS

May 5, 2020 by

Do people in the writing life smoke to show they’d rather die than change bad habits? Or maybe they secretly want to lose a few pounds, although Joan Didion may disagree. The writing life? Please. I hear that and think of droopy people sitting around typewriters with a pipe or cigarette stuck in their face. […]

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LOVE RULES ON PORTLAND PARK BLOCKS AND BLACK HEARTS

March 4, 2020 by

It was a dark and stormy night for love rules? No, not stormy, but dark, and I was in a certain space somewhere between regret and remorse. So maybe it was stormy after all, my own little shower of despair. It started with a conversation inside a Willamette Writers meeting, which is always a challenge. […]

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DECADE ENDS IN SOFT TALK, HARD TRUTHS

December 26, 2019 by

    Me: This decade ends the best of times and worst of times. Them: Did you just make that up, or are you finally going to admit to stealing from Charles Dickens? Me: Writers don’t steal, they borrow. Them: Like the time you borrowed a notebook from Payless in Pony Village?

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