My book! Isn’t it shiny?
-
Tag Archives: fiction is my job
Evening in BarnhillLand
So here’s the thing: I’ve got a really weird job. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I’ve had lots of jobs in my life (lots and lots and lots of them), and I discovered along the way that I’m, well, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged fiction is my job, middle grade fiction, on writing novels, parenting, raising boys, revision, writing novels
6 Comments
Underwater
Dear Blog, I know, I know. And I’m sorry. I’ve been ignoring you, ignoring my commitment to the daily practice of poetry (was I completely mad for deciding to do that? Probably.), ignoring my commitment to engaging with Ideas (or, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged fiction is my job, multiverse, Parallel universe (fiction), revision, Spacetime, Universe, writing novels
3 Comments
Back to Normal
The children are back in school. My hands are raised to the heavens. My mouth sings hymns of praise. I have cleared away the debris on my desk (there was beach sand on my desk. And a flip flop. And … Continue reading
Today’s Poem: “Cheating at Cards With Jesus”
Cheating at Cards With Jesus The Lord is a pain in the ass when He’s had too much whiskey. But then, so’s anyone, so I couldn’t fault Him for it. He leered over the rim of his cards and winked. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged astronomy, fiction is my job, Jesus, poetry, poker, religious poetry, sacrilegious poetry, transcendence, transformative thinking, whiskey
19 Comments
How To Roast a Novel
My father gave me a copy of Julia Child’s letters (As Always, Julia), and, as always, that woman is a revelation. I remember watching her show as a little kid and, after being first entranced by her voice and by … Continue reading
All Memory is Magic; All Magic is Memory
When I was three years old, I walked out into the yard. It was a cicada year, though I did not yet know what a cicada was. All I knew was that the air hummed, and the sky hummed, and … Continue reading
Dreams, Signs, Wonders (Is there a difference between novel writing and clinical insanity? Probably not.)
There’s a magic thing that happens when a book takes over your life. There is….an unpinning from the world. A sense of nonbeing – or, perhaps multi-being. When I start a book, it feels like play. I doodle pictures of my … Continue reading
On Entropy, Accretion and Exploding Novels
There was a time in my life when I was a lot tougher than I am now. And though I was strong enough to break a man’s nose (and did once, but that is another story) that time in my … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged astronomy, books, deathlessness, entropy, fiction is my job, formation of stars, horsehead nebula, nebula, new novels, novels, writing, Young Adult Literature, youth
11 Comments
First Lines
Just a quick post today, as I hurry out the door to conduct my very last story-writing workshop at Chanhassen Elementary. But I wanted to share with you just a tiny bit of what these kids are doing. I like … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Creative writing, fiction is my job, fourth graders, my job totally rules, Teaching
2 Comments
I’m pretty sure I just squashed the dreams (and possibly the souls) of a bunch of college students.
I just got back from a student/alumni networking event for Liberal Arts majors at my alma mater, St. Catherine University – a small, Catholic, all-lady college in Minnesota. I had agreed – foolishly, yes, I see that now – to … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged ah! College!, alma mater, alumni, College of St. Catherine, fiction is my job, I wish I was better at this sort of thing, Little Brown, networking, On my unsuitability for most types of employment, on vocation, on writing, starry-eyed co-eds, transformative thinking
20 Comments
