For the past three years, I’ve had the deep pleasure and privilege of working on a collection of papers found in the top of my mother’s closet after she died, letters from long forgotten relatives, mainly women, in Virginia, West Virginia and Georgia, covering more than 150 years.
Blog Posts on Writing and Authors
The Business of Being a Writer
After teaching last week at the Cape Cod Writers’ Conference, with, for and among an amiable group, I came home with a few thoughts: what students are seeking in workshops such as this one (I imagine academic classes may be different) is contact.
Cape Cod Writing Workshop
It’s important to avoid overusing your own point of view.
Teaching The Short Story
My poetry leads me to focus on word choice, the rhythm and sound of language, the flow of sentences—all of which are essential to the success and the intensity of the short story.
First Words
These five days are about your expansion. This doesn’t mean belittling who you are right now as you sit here. It reflects what I’ve learned from my own writing and from teaching workshops: that we all have more possibilities and potentials than we realize.
Spellbinding Short Stories
MONDAY SPELLBINDING SHORT STORIES: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Catching your reader’s attention with: A. TITLES: SHORT, PUNCHY, DIRECT, WITH AN ELEMENT OF MYSTERY “What Remains” (Emma Donoghue); “Ashes to Ashes
Why Are So Few Women Writers…
You can easily finish this sentence: why are so few women writers reviewed in The New York Times? Included in literary quarterlies? Republished in anthologies? Given major prizes? Well… VIDA’s
Jill Abramson Appointed Executive Director of The New York Times
Having lived through the bad old days of journalism… I was elated to hear that Jill Abramson has been appointed the first women executive director of The New York Times.