Paris, Je T’Aime: Looking Back
I cannot say exactly when I fell in love with Paris. I suppose I came by it gradually. Before I knew that this love had seized me irrevocably, I thought that if there was one place in the world I … Continued
Bodega Bay Days
The light in Bodega Bay amazes. While it can display its full intense spectrum, casting a rainbow of shadows on everything it floods, it’s never harsh. It caresses the ocean with shimmering silver or imbues it with dark impenetrable blue. … Continued
Literary Appropriation of Real Events: Celebrity at a Paris Café
Quai des Grands Augustins teems with people on this cool but sunny May day in 2004. Often, you can’t get to the end of this Quai without bumping shoulders with other giddy tourists. This stretch on the left bank has … Continued
Art-Making: Express Yourself with Pictures, Not Just Words
We’re lucky, we humans. We have words to express what we think, what we feel, and what we dream. But words are just one way for us to “say” who we are. Many of us also find art-making or music-making … Continued
Writer and Slave: Get Used To It
You are a writer. Therefore, you’re a slave. To reviews, to courting a readership, to spending hours on tasks not related to writing. Writer and slave: You’re helpless against that bondage. Most writers now are resigned to the fact that … Continued
Write To Save Your Life (or, at least, your psyche)
Can writing heal what ails you? Many studies show you can write to save your life. I started writing my thoughts and feelings in a little notebook when I was a kid. I think it was my way of coping … Continued
Live Inside Your Head: Romance in writing
If you live inside your head, people are likely to think you’re crazy. But doing so can actually be comforting. Productive, even. As I grew older, reality trounced my dreams one by one. I found myself retreating a little more … Continued