Do you tell yourself you need a couple of days when your calendar is free from distractions before you can sit down and start to write? Then when the weekend arrives you sleep late, catch up on correspondence, watch a movie, and maybe make time to stare at a blank screen. In a block of eight hours without any other commitments, you’re lucky if you spend an hour or two actually writing. Are you convinced that next chapter will get written while you are away at a writer’s retreat? When you get there do you enjoy the camaraderie of kindred spirits indulging in literary conversations, visiting the tourist attractions, eating meals together, and checking out a nearby bookstore or art gallery? In a block of five free days, you might actually write a total of 10 hours. Have you looked at your watch and sighed with disappointment that there isn’t enough time to write before you have to a) go pick up the kids from school b) meet someone for lunch or c) rush off to your next appointment? Instead you Tweet #amwriting when you’re not, take a photo of your desk and post to Instagram, and check out what other people are reading on Facebook. Do the dishes have to be done and everyone else asleep in the house before you can start to work on your manuscript? Exhaustion and all the day residue defeat your best intentions to write. Have you joined a Facebook group with other writers…
In the special part of my brain reserved for book related ephemera is a running list of my all-time favorite novels. I update the list quarterly in the event that I must spend the rest of my life on a remote island and will only be permitted ten books. So when this happens, I’ll be ready. I’ll shrug and say, “Sure, give me a minute…. [Read More]
Filed Under: Annie Lammott, Bird by Bird, book ephemera, Elmore Leonard, On Writing, Rules For Writing, Stephen King
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How we spend our days is who we are. Or maybe it’s how we’d like to spend our days. And while some people measure their credibility with degrees, workshops and residencies, or publishing credits, here’s a list of my own criteria to help you decide if you’re a “real writer.” You feel naked without a notebook and pen. Worse, you find yourself isolated and scribbling… [Read More]
In its fifth year the Ithaca Literary Festival, Spring Writes, presents a weekend full of workshops, readings, and performances. Check the calendar for the full schedule of activities. Here’s a few highlights to entice to you to one of the dozen venues downtown to participate in the festivities. There are more than 30 events to inspire you. Sponsored by the Community Arts Partnership in Tompkins… [Read More]
This past Wednesday 25,000 volunteers gave away half a million books across America. World Book Night spreads the love of reading person to person. Why? Reading is fun. And reading changes lives, improves employment opportunities, social interaction, enfranchisement, and can have a positive effect on mental health and happiness. Book readers are more likely to participate in positive activities such as volunteering, attending cultural events, and… [Read More]
The coffee shop is packed with them: young, hip, ironic writer types purporting to work on short stories, dissertations, even a couple of novels. Small wobbly tables support MacBook Pros with Retina Displays, along with half empty mocha latte cups, and the latest version of iPhone. The human operators of these machines are creative and intelligent, if somewhat distracted. In between all of their tweeting,… [Read More]