MINDFUL WRITING – BALANCING SURRENDER AND CONTROL

MINDFUL WRITING – BALANCING SURRENDER AND CONTROL

Mindful Writing is a lot like life which is a lot like dancing on a teeter-totter, “surrender” at one end and “control” at the other. When the desire for control takes over, I buckle down, work harder, make some progress but too often end up banging my head against a...

How 5 minutes a day can change your life.

How 5 minutes a day can change your life.

photo credit: Pixabay Not long ago, I had one of those aha moments. It was the end of the day. I was tired. Just enough energy left that I could hear that still, small voice within addressing me, "I have something to say. Please listen." So I did. And here's what that...

What is a “creative mistake”?

What is a “creative mistake”?

  photo credit: Pixabay.com I've been watching the winter Olympics, especially the figure skating. Magnificent, but what strikes me particularly is the falls and the recoveries. How quickly the skaters rise,  glide seamlessly (so it appears) right back in stride,...

What makes a memoir great?

What makes a memoir great?

photo credit: Pixabay.com I just finished reading Pamela Jane's engrossing memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story. This memoir found its way into my heart because it combined so many of the (heretofor) unconscious qualities I seek in memoir. I'd...

What’s wrong with show vs tell?

What’s wrong with show vs tell?

photo credit: Pixabay.com "Show, don't tell." If you've been to a writing class or read a writing book in the past 50 years, you've heard these words. So, what's wrong with them? On one hand, nothing. But on another, a lot. If you're unfamiliar with the distinction...

The Mindful Writer — What to write about?

The Mindful Writer — What to write about?

  The most fundamental of all the many questions facing the Mindful Writer is this: what should I write about? We all face this question.  But most advice on writing seems to skip this vital step, to focus on the "how" of writing - craft issues - as if the "what"...

The Difference between Memoir and Autobiography

The Difference between Memoir and Autobiography

photo credit: Pixabay.com   If you're old enough to recognize the photo of the machine above (as I do), then maybe it's time to consider writing about your life. Joy, insight, memories, feelings from long ago, maybe putting some old ghosts ... all these await...

Mindful Writing – Faith in Your Own Creativity

Mindful Writing – Faith in Your Own Creativity

photo credit: Pixabay Today was a very good day. I felt totally blocked. And never let it bother me. I've been working on editing the manuscript for my new book, Mindful Writing, and also teaching an introductory course on the same topic. Both of these have prompted a...

Haiku Memoir

Haiku Memoir

  Today's entry is about what I call "Haiku Memoir," that shares some important characteristics with Improvisational Theatre (what I wrote about last time). Both Improv and Haiku Memoir are HUGE fun. They're brief. They're in the moment. They depend, not so much...

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