But what if I’m not a writer?
Let’s get one thing out of the way: You are a writer. Even if you don’t write every day. Even if you haven’t ever published anything. Even if you don’t intend to ever publish anything. Even if your grammar and spelling are atrocious (I had to look that word up to be sure I spelled […]
Seeing Clearly
I am spending this week with my parents while my mother has cataract surgery. She’ll need it for both eyes eventually, but today they are beginning with her left eye. Seeing things clearly has been difficult for her for a while. Puzzles are harder. Reading takes much longer. Deciphering road signs is impossible. We are […]
Losing Days and Paying Attention
I lost a whole day last week. All day last Wednesday I thought it was Tuesday. I suppose that’s either the mark of a really good vacation week or a really bad week all around. In hindsight, it was both. On the vacation front, I unplugged more than usual, took long walks with family, did […]
The Banquet of Fall
Here in the mountains of North Carolina, fall unfolds like a stroll down a Thanksgiving buffet table. From September’s appetizers at the highest peaks to November’s desserts in the valleys, over 120 species of deciduous trees offer a banquet of beauty. To a kid from flat hot Florida, and a new resident of this part […]
Balcony People
This week the church marks All Saints’ Day. We give thanks for those who have mothered and fathered us in faith. We recognize the great cloud of witnesses that surround us, and mark the lives of those who have died recently, entrusting them to God, as they join the company of saints. The great Baptist […]
Writing and Reading One True Sentence
Sometimes the words aren’t there. When the empty page, or blinking cursor begin to mock me, I remind myself to step away for a bit. I take the dog for a long sniffy stroll. Make a cup of coffee. Do a mindless but satisfying chore like fold laundry or empty the dishwasher. That can help. […]
An Ode to Red Cloud, Nebraska
Scrappy town on the prairie carved out of sod and bittersweet. Cornfields, sorghum, milo, ditchweed. Grain elevators and town bells. Cemeteries and old churches. Dust to dust and fields to food. Your houses are as varied as your people. Some flaking and listing. Others preserved and renewed. Whole families and histories have sprouted, grown, been […]
Love Where You Live – A Literary Invitation to Explore
This week I’m with my writing group in Red Cloud, Nebraska. It’s where the author Willa Cather grew up, and wrote some of her best known novels. We are exploring her tiny hometown, discovering the prairie that inspired her, writing, and working on plans for our second book together. You can read a little more […]
How writing with others saved me
It’s a story I’m learning to tell more often. It felt very private at first. The first thing you should know is that in 1997 we had twins, born ten weeks early. They were tiny. They came into the world during a dramatic emergency c-section, after a difficult pregnancy. Our oldest learned to eat, hold […]
On Rusty Tools and Writing
It’s a lot right now. Afghanistan, Ida, COVID, voting rights, and whatever personal pain or worry is keeping you up in the night. It’s an awful lot. Are we making progress? Is progress even the goal? What about kindness, or truth, or mercy? Or just safe shelter and schooling for anyone who needs it? Do […]