I woke up this morning with a Dar Williams song stuck in my head, which is never a bad way to wake up. The specific song dredged up by my subconscious was Iowa, one of my favorites from her. The internet informs me that it came out in 1996, which was a pinnacle year in … Continue reading Through the screen doors of discretion
Tag: Writing
Magic and muses
There's a magical thing that happens sometimes with any creative process. I had characters and a setting and a vague idea of what they might be up to, and I let it percolate in my head for around a year. Simmering there, in my subconscious and memories and neurological coding, and then all of a … Continue reading Magic and muses
The end of all things 2021ish
It's the end of another calendar year, and it's tradition to have new year's resolutions. I don't do that anymore. My goals are ongoing. But I do like to reflect a bit, because one thing I've noticed as I've traversed further into adulthood is that if you're willing to work at it, your level of … Continue reading The end of all things 2021ish
Give yourself the gift of anger
I found this in my online travels, and since I'm not much for the "traditional" Western Christian version of Christmas, I thought - here's an actual useful lesson for the holiday that purports to be about lessons: It's okay to hold onto anger. You are not obligated to forgive. Not "because it's family." Not "because … Continue reading Give yourself the gift of anger
Unmoored
Every time I finish a writing project and put myself on hiatus, I end up feeling all weird and anxious and like I'm forgetting to do something really important. It's much worse this time, because I've become so disciplined about writing that now I feel almost a bit lost. I have other writing projects I'm … Continue reading Unmoored
Music to write novels to
Do any other artists find that creating is easier with the right music? I have extensive playlists named after various characters that I use when I need to get into a particular character's point of view. I have playlists that elicit setting for me in some way. And I have some that simply evoke a … Continue reading Music to write novels to
Know she breaks my siren
It started with a song. With many songs, luring us away from our quotidian world and into some sort of liminal space, some sort of dangerous borderlands, a place it's easy to get lost in. There have been so songs. So many beginnings, and so many endings. Each one is a different lifetime, a different … Continue reading Know she breaks my siren
Inspiration is Bullshit
I've been thinking about someone I knew years ago, who - like me - was a writer. And I've been thinking about how she quit her job one day, and packed up her car and drove halfway to a new place, a place she thought she could really put her all into writing and perhaps … Continue reading Inspiration is Bullshit
I write so that we can meet again
I write because I have to keep talking to you. Because I want to meet you again - out of time, out of memory.I want to be surprised by you again, to be drawn into your story.I want to be curious about you again.I want to hear you, and feel heard.I want to unravel you, … Continue reading I write so that we can meet again
Extraordinary Eruptions of Information
The interminable humorist and philosopher, Douglas Adams, once said: “For us, there is no longer a fundamental mystery about Life. It is all the process of extraordinary eruptions of information, and it is information which gives us this fantastically rich, complex world in which we live.” Have we lost mystery? Is there a difference between … Continue reading Extraordinary Eruptions of Information
Notes in the Margins 