Empathy–The Gift of Story
I believe that stories are incredibly important, possibly in ways we don’t understand… in giving us empathy and in creating the world that we live in. ~ Neil Gaiman ~ Even though it is a new year, the struggle to live with and make sense of the world and its current political and social challenges […]
Don’t Know What to Write? Look Out…
Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact. -Robert McKee Now that we are formally into spring, I’ve enjoyed a full week of watching birds at the feeder just outside the window where I work at my computer. The red-winged […]
The Power of Story to…
After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world. ~ Philip Pullman~ This past Thanksgiving, Bob and I traveled to Virginia to be with our oldest son, his wife and his two sons, all of whom were struggling with a virus that resulted in stuffy noses and coughs. In […]
New Moon, New Chapter, New Book?
Today is a New Moon in Scorpio. Three words that express the energy of Scorpio are sex, death, and transformation. Those words, in one way or another, signify loss and change. To experience the true power and intimacy of sex, you must allow your boundaries, your sense of self to blur, soften and disappear. There […]
Are You an Illusionist or a Magician?
The Magician of the tarot is number one in the Major Arcana (Arcanum = secret knowledge), often called the Fool’s Journey. The Fool travels through consciousness (outer concerns of life), to the subconscious (the search inward) and finally to the superconscious (spiritual awareness). Most people travel through these stages more than once as their lives […]
5 Ways to Use Music for your Writing
Where words fail, music speaks. ~ Hans Christian Andersen Our youngest son, Jason, is visiting for several weeks while he and his dad work on restoring a ’69 MGB-GT, a fun project for father and son. When not working on the car, and at home in Los Angeles, Jason is a professional musician, composing his […]
The Power of Your Story
The Universe is made of stories,/ not of atoms. ~Muriel Rukeyser Our oldest son and his wife came for a visit recently, bringing our grandsons, one-year-old Ryan and three-year-old Andrew. Andrew went home at the end of his visit with us with a fine collection of stories. Stories about roasting marshmallows over a big fire […]
Quaking & Shaking in Your Writing?
We learn geology the morning after the earthquake. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson Earth. The element of certainty and security. It’s the ground we walk on, the home we live in (whose foundations are planted in the ground), the income (coins) we earn. The food we eat, and the health of our bodies. But the Earth […]
Do You Believe in Your Own Identity?
Believe in your own identity and your own opinions. Writing is an act of ego, and you might as well admit it. ~ William Zinsser Author William Zinsser died last week. He wrote the book On Writing Well. I love the idea that to be a writer, I must first believe in my own identity […]
Explore the Night Life When You Travel
This is my tenth post in this special series by Beth Barany and I on Travel and Writing. In this post, we talk about the value of those nighttime experiences for your stories. Also, get information on our retreats, Beth’s in Paris, and my VIW (Very Important Writer) retreats here in the Catskills. There is […]