That sentence was written by Isabel Allende, and can be found at the bottom of page 442 in her 1985 novel, The House of the Spirits. I honestly think this may be one of the most perfect sentences ever written. You don’t need to know what the book is about to feel the fear and… Continue reading “At that time of night, the only traffic consisted of trucks filled with bodies and detainees, and police cars that roamed the streets like lost wolves howling in the darkness of the curfew.”
Category: Writing
The Mother who Saved the Mothers from the Black Bear
Dear Vi, Today I’m going to share a very sweet little story that I wrote it for my mother on Mother’s Day, 1971, misspellings and grammatical errors included. I hope your laughter is full of delight. Mine was! One day Jane was in school sitting in her desk waiting egrley for the surprise Mis Cod… Continue reading The Mother who Saved the Mothers from the Black Bear
Knitting and Novel Writing… and Lord of the Dance for the letter L
Dear Vi, So, you remember a couple of days ago when I told you about the green sweater I wanted to knit? I’m so glad I decided to switch patterns. Somehow the way this sweater pattern is written reminds me of how I’m writing my novel. What? On sweaters I’ve knit in the past, you… Continue reading Knitting and Novel Writing… and Lord of the Dance for the letter L
90,423 words later
I have finished the rough draft of my first novel. It’s gone past the critical eye of two critique partners, so it isn’t as rough as it would have been. In fact, some parts aren’t too bad at all. I thought I’d feel elated. I thought a giant whoo hooo would come bursting out of… Continue reading 90,423 words later
The Worst Job I Ever Had was Pulling the Heads off Dead Chickens
After I graduated from high school, and after all the cap-throwing and after-grad partying was finished (about 3 days later), my parents decided that I needed a summer job. After all, I’d be heading off to university in the fall; it wasn’t unreasonable to expect me to make a financial contribution. I had a student… Continue reading The Worst Job I Ever Had was Pulling the Heads off Dead Chickens
To Write or Not to Write (…what was the question?)
Both Elizabeth Berg (Escaping into the Open) and Carolyn See (Making a Literary Life) advise against telling people that you are writing a book. Why? Because then people will, of course, want to know what it’s about. It goes like this: You: So, what do you do? Me: Oh, nothing much – this and that… Continue reading To Write or Not to Write (…what was the question?)