Tag: writing

  • What we can learn about the ‘innocence of children’ from Goodnight Moon

    What we can learn about the ‘innocence of children’ from Goodnight Moon

    So here’s something. I received a link to the following article today (thanks cuz); a submission to the New York Times Draft blog for writers. What Writers Can Learn From ‘Goodnight Moon’ Though I was certainly an English major, I’ve actually never, believe it or not, fully analysed an entire critique of Goodnight Moon before.…

  • Fifty-Two Frames: Spirals

    My own theme of this last year’s writing course is untangling, de-coiling, unfolding myself to expose the insecurity, to face it, to poke it where it hurts, over and over. Now to climb back out of the spiral. Stand on the edge. Look further down the road. Week 22: Spirals Become unfurled. 

  • Fifty-Two Paragraphs

    Sometimes, pretending to be an amateur photographer helps me be creative. In choosing a photo to submit for this week’s Fifty-Two Frames, I asked my husband about a cheeky idea I had. “I think you’re a writer, not a photographer.” In other words, I seem to enjoy playing with the captions more than handling the…

  • Wherein I flip the details.

    Enjoyed today’s ‘Writing Gym,’ especially the last exercise we did. As a group, we collaborated on a few details for a character, and then each wrote a scene involving her. The details were:  A woman in her 50s, named Dorothy, single From Omaha, Nebraska, currently in London, UK Some connection to being a born again…

  • Maurice Sendak teaches Stephen Colbert how to write a children’s book.

    Oddly, I’m writing about Maurice Sendak twice in one month. But dude deserves it. I guess he’s having his Betty White moment. Whatever the case, I’ll take any gem or pearl this wild thing has to offer. Please allow yourself both parts of Sendak’s recent appearance on the Colbert Report, where genius of another type…

  • Where Maurice Sendak’s Wild Things Are.

    Loved this interview with Maurice Sendak, author/illustrator galore. Dude’s got attitude, like little Max. “Herman Melville said that artists have to take a dive… and either you hit your head on a rock and you split your skull and you die, OR, that blow to the head was so inspiring you come back up and…

  • The fish, the shark and Passover.

    When Gilad Shalit was 11, he wrote a short story called “When the Shark and the Fish First Met.” Though it seems this was originally published and spread around in 2008, I only came across it now via Facebook shares. It resonates with me because I did a lot of short story writing when I was…

  • That’s a lot of Keret.

    Have I mentioned that I totally dig Etgar Keret? In college I took a creative writing class that focused on ‘short short stories.’ Like, really short. Micro short. Blogger short. Ever since reading The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God I realized that this guy was doing what I wanted to be doing with…

  • Pediatric memory.

    This is what I completed from the Memoir Writing class I not-so-recently finished. I’m not sure if it’s complete yet. The pleather cushioning of the examination counter-tops in the patient rooms still call to me as an inviting yet risky place for a sick kid to sit. Carrying my infant son from the reception area…

  • Writing, Etgar Keret, and where the &%*# is Peter Pan?

    Every year or two I get an itch to complete something on my bucket list. Last year, it was performing in the Vagina Monologues. For the past six months, it’s been getting back into my writing habit. I’ve been on a quest to discover the right outlet for skill-sharpening. It’s no shock that Israel would…

  • Etgar Keret #3.

    A third Etgar Keret piece that can be found in the NYTimes. Who loves Etgar Keret? We love Etgar Keret! The Way We War By ETGAR KERET Tel Aviv YESTERDAY I called the cable people to yell at them. The day before, my friend told me he’d called and yelled at them a little, threatened…

  • Etgar Keret in the NYTimes 2.

    March 27, 2006 Stupor in Our Time By ETGAR KERET Tel Aviv THE parties my father votes for never get into Parliament. One year he’ll vote for some economist with thick glasses who promises a revolution in tax law, the next year for an irate teacher with a ponytail who advocates a revolution in the…