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Monthly Archives: April 2022
“The writer must solve two problems: Can it be done? and, Can I do it?”
Every book, story, and poem, Annie Dillard says, presents challenges, “which the writer discovers as soon as his first excitement dwindles.” That’s when the real work begins. Can it be done? Can the writer engage our intellects and our hearts? … Continue reading
Posted in non-fiction
Tagged Annie Dillard, Pulitzer Prize recipient, The Writing Life, Writing challenges
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“Embrace the crumbs with the cake.”
It’s been eight years since I last read this book, and this time around, I’m struck by Goldberg’s advice to pay attention to memorable, small pieces. In fact, one of the best ways to write about the “monumental” is to … Continue reading
Posted in memoir
Tagged Focus on details, Nabokov, Natalie Goldberg, Old Friend from Far Away, Write memoirs
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“Thorny people. They don’t always follow the etiquette.”
What do you think a story about a thorny family would include? If it’s by Anne Tyler, and if it covers a period of sixty years, you can expect to see that things don’t always work out. For example, the … Continue reading
Posted in fiction
Tagged a favorite novelist, Anne Tyler, French Braid, Pulitzer Prize, subversive
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