sleep, by the way, is useful.

Yes, I’m back, though not quite up to writing much at the moment. It has been pointed out that I am home, but not blogging. Yes, it’s true. The reason is that I have not slept much. In several days.
As in, we left Berlin on Sunday morning early, which is late Saturday evening in California. [...]

Verlassen für Deutschland… Auf Wiedersehen!

I’m off!
To Germany and Greece! Tomorrow!  I’m not packed yet, but I’m working on it. There’s a messy pile of paper, books, guidebooks, shoes and so on in the middle of my bedroom floor. I’m normally a pretty organized traveler, as I hate to forget things, and I hate to carry extra stuff. I pack [...]

to laptop or not to laptop….

I’m about to leave for a vacation and there are long flights ahead. For me, a plane is a great place to write… You’re trapped in a seat and the Internet is out of range = no distraction. (Assuming your row is baby free, and your neighbors are quiet, keep-to-themselves sorts, of course.) And so, [...]

Don’t say it.

I had a moment of understanding about the short story I’ve been writing….These kind of moments are, for me, mixed blessings, because there comes both excitement at a wonderful breakthrough and also a certain something that I don’t want to face up to.
The short story I’ve been writing, though I see the end result clearly [...]

lost day

Today was a lost day. I slept very poorly last night, one of those nights in which sleep was late to come, and when it did, it was fitful and fraught with strange dreams and whirring thoughts. I awoke often, confused by the seeming slowness of time. It’s only 2:37 am? It’s only 4:19? And [...]

Books with Big Impact

Red Ravine’s writing topic yesterday was titled 10 Slam Dunks:
List the Top 10 books that have had the most impact on your life.
Your entire life. From the time you first started reading – or were read to by your parents – to the present moment. Which books (and by extraction, writers) had the most influence [...]

Who is this Nell Freudenberger, anyway?

What is more comforting than a lobster? One long line segment, the length of the brush, fanning slightly at the bottom. Three or four hook strokes, on the diagonal (three for a small lobster, four for a big one). With a wet brush, three dashes, nearly but not quite joined at the base, like an [...]

writing environment

I’ve been thinking about what I need to work efficiently and productively, and, perhaps more importantly, what I don’t need.
I’m lucky enough to have an office, which because it is primarily mine to use, is set up in a way that makes me comfortable and happy. Which is good, since I spend most of every [...]