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Burn, Baby, Burn...
I've been absent from the blogosphere a bit too long, dealing with the sometimes overwhelming tasks of being a writer/teacher/mom/wife with a newly-minted teenager exploring his angst and a feisty 3rd-grader running all over. But I have been checking in from time to time and read something truly heart-breaking ( Read more... ) -
The Tenure Trap
Before I started writing semi-full-time, I taught full time. Believe me, there are very few teaching jobs that are "fluff" jobs, but lately there has been a lot of debate about the fate of tenure in American universities. A recent essay by Christopher Shea in the New York Times Sunday Book Review addresses two books that tackle the question - ( Read more... ) -
I'll have a plate of Hypocrisy with a side of Stupidity, please...
I don't like to talk politics, especially on a blog, but when some ignorant group of fascists declares a "national burn the Koran day," I simply cannot hold my tongue. Yes, that idiot pastor Terry Jones appeared on a recent episode of HARDBALL with Chris Matthews to proclaim 9/11 as a demonstration against Islam. Sure, he says "Muslims are free ( Read more... ) -
Running Towards Nirvana
You hear it all the time: "Writing and publishing a book is a marathon not a sprint." What I would like to know is...Is this a 5k, a 10k, or a 20k run? I don't want to be a nattering nabob, but I feel as though I've hit that wall more than once, and I'm wondering if I have that second wind that everyone talks about. Don't get me wrong. I have ( Read more... ) -
Cries from a Cultural Wasteland
Huddled at my tiny round table in a dim corner of the coffee house, sipping my caramel milk tea (non-dairy of course), I grasp at the few shadows of civilized life and dream of flesh-and-blood writer contact. Yes, after a quick search on the SCBWI roster, I found exactly one (1) writer who lives within a 20-mile radius of this little cesspool. ( Read more... ) -
To Answer the MFA Question
Thanks to everyone who offered some advice on this topic. Several people said the MFA pursuit transformed their writing lives, while others offered more practical comments, especially when it comes to the financial burden that comes with such a choice. I think the very best advice I got came down to a very simple but essential issue: Be very ( Read more... ) -
To MFA or Not to MFA?
As if I don't have enough on my plate, I am tossing around the idea of going for a low residency MFA. Why? Perhaps because it's there. Or maybe because it would give me a more solid credential for teaching at the college. Or maybe because I'm itching for another way to hone the craft. Of course if you read The New Yorker's article Show or Tell ( Read more... ) -
Frailty
I was at my RA doctor for a routine appointment today, and she mentioned that my recent x-rays show signs of osteoporosis. Gulp. She said it's not a surprise since I'm "caucasian, pettite, and frail..." Hang on! Did she just use that word to describe ME? FRAIL? I was that skinny little girl who played football with the boys and got called ( Read more... ) -
Toy Story 3 and why I bawled my eyes out...
For Father's Day, we decided to take a family excursion to the event that is TOY STORY 3. My expectations were only slightly guarded as Pixar has more than delivered on this franchise twice already. What I hadn't braced myself for, however, was my own parental journey as I sat there with my 13-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter and watched ( Read more... )
