As it turns out, writing nonfiction stories is not very different from writing fiction for Ann Patchett. The title essay for this collection describes how she puts together an understanding of the life of the stranger who comes to stay in her house during the first months of the COVID-19 … Read More
Category: non-fiction
“Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves…”
“Be curious” is the advice that I am hearing nearly every day. It’s coming from a wide range of sources: Judson Brewer (in Unwinding Anxiety), Ollie Dreon (in his blog for college instructors), Kristin Neff (in Self-Compassion), and Ted Lasso (a TV series). … Read More
Best of 2021: Book Prescriptions
As we finish this difficult year, I’m wondering how I can thank my readers for sticking with me. Blogs can’t offer hugs, a place to go scream, a few extra hours of sleep, or stiff drinks. However, I can prescribe books that can help those who have this year’s Common … Read More
“And then learn to be more compassionate company, as if you were somebody you are fond of and wish to encourage.”
When you are writing, do you think “This is great!” or do you think, “I shouldn’t have put this off. It’s a mess. I’ll never get it right.” Too often, I find it easy to be with the large number of people who are critical of themselves when they write. … Read More
“The island where I live is peopled with cranks like myself.”
The essay “Teaching a Stone to Talk” opens with a description of cranky man named Larry who does, in fact, try to teach a stone to talk. Several times a day, he takes a certain stone off his shelf, removes its cover, and gives it lessons. This light-hearted story leads … Read More
“To cause paralyzing anxiety, is the dream of power. . .”
Is this true? To have power, do you need to make everyone feel anxious? According to the author of this essay about Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the answer is “Absolutely.” The play is about an exiled Duke who wants to return to power, even though he has no army, … Read More
“I’m more interested in the intangibles that produce good writing – confidence, enjoyment, intention, integrity.”
In the 30th Anniversary Edition of this classic book on writing nonfiction, William Zinsser describes how his priorities have evolved over the decades. Known as an advocate for clear, “uncluttered” writing, in his later years, he grew to value “humanity and warmth” even more. As every writing teacher would … Read More
“You don’t have to rely on reason.”
More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle said that logical arguments are always less effective than moving stories. So, if you want to persuade someone to do something, appeal to their heart, not to their brain. I thought of this when reading this book. Brewer argues that if you want to … Read More
“But then Shakespeare had a thought: What if a character had a conversation – with himself.”
Before Shakespeare invented the soliloquy, actors spoke in monologues and dialogues. Soliloquys are a radical combination of the uninterrupted speech of one person (in monologues) with the tension created by expressing two different perspectives (in dialogues). Soliloquys demonstrate how a character can go back and forth when weighing both sides … Read More
“I believe large numbers of people have at least some talent as writers and storytellers, and that those talents can be strengthened and sharpened.”
I nearly fell off my chair when I read this statement in Stephen King’s book On Writing. It provides such a sharp contrast to the 20 other books I’ve been reading on the subject of writing memoirs. Because I’m working on my own book on this subject, I’ve been … Read More
“Vocation does not mean a goal that I pursue. It means a calling that I hear.”
We’re in the middle of the summer, and I’m still in the process of “righting the ship.” After feeling off-balance for a year, I am turning once again to my wise friend, Parker Palmer. This is the book that I chose for my first blog post in 2013, and … Read More
“Resistance is not about laziness, lack of will power, or the failure of intellect and imagination.”
Instead, it’s about neurology and psychology, Rosanne Bane argues in her book about the resistance that nearly all writers experience at some point. She explains what happens in our brains when we have trouble writing. As a writing teacher, I have been experimenting with ways to support the writing process … Read More
“It occurred to me how curious it was that books are so often written about as if they were toasters.”
Toasters? In Anne Fadiman’s world, there is a difference between useful objects such as toasters and important things that you want to maintain a connection with, such as books. She loves books. As a writer, and the daughter of parents who were both writers, and the wife of … Read More
“I may just be the owner of a small bookstore in the middle of the country trying to argue against the world’s richest man …”
Danny Caine continues, “but that doesn’t mean I’m going to quietly watch the world’s richest man relentlessly collect money, influence, and power.” In 128 pages, he argues for “resisting” Amazon. Much of what he says about fighting for local economies, data privacy, fair labor, independent bookstores, and “a people-powered … Read More
“But no less than the daily food we eat, the daily literature we consume can have significant benefits.”
Can reading a great book be therapeutic? Every English teacher I know would say yes. Some of us, in fact, prescribe books to our friends who might want help in delicate situations. What’s new here is the idea that neuroscientists – like Fletcher – can identify scientific explanations for … Read More