(N.b. I have a Flickr set tagged CNF2008, and I also set up a mailing list for anyone interested who attended.) I’m doing a turn-and-burn — touch down, refuel, take off with afterburners blazing to teach “Writing for the Web” for NEFLIN on Wednesday — but I wanted to share my top ten favorite things […]
Local eggs Originally uploaded by freerangelibrarian Last week I paid four dollars for a dozen eggs, and that was an insanely good bargain. They weren’t just any old eggs; they were fresh eggs from a local farm, and aside from being almost too unbearably pretty to crack open — they were pastel blue and green […]
The first rule of workshop is, do not cry at workshop. I ran that tape in my mind over and over again this afternoon while the instructor for my writing workshop carefully, politely explained why my essay didn’t work. I knew it didn’t work; that’s why I brought it to workshop. It has beautiful language […]
Mississippi, that is, for the Mid-South Creative Nonfiction Conference. By all reports a charming town, with a great bookstore and several good restaurants. This is my first vacation by myself in over fifteen years — since I met Sandy –and it seemed like a good idea at the time, but I now feel a little […]
At first, when I couldn’t find a post I had made on Chowhound yesterday morning before I left for work, I chalked it up to my own sloppy surfing. I have been acutely focused on Friday’s talk, as many people from MPOW are coming, which I am finding very stressful to the point of frazzlement […]
First, whilst I was in Orlando amusing some of my favorite MMLs (Muckety-Muck Librarians) with my 12-megabyte PowerPoint slideshow, I received news that my essay The Outlaw Bride was accepted for publication! In my typical ultra-superstitious manner I’m not going to tell you where until I at least see a contract, but it’s a well-respected […]
First be sure to limit your group to six or seven members, so each participant can be assured plenty of opportunities to read. Look for serious writers with lots of material to submit. Make that serious novelists, because short story or nonfiction authors won’t be suited to this type of group, no matter how kind […]
“‘ “I find the comparison between civil rights based on race and supposed new rights being granted for what amounts to deviant behavior to be really kind of ridiculous. There is no comparison. A black as a person does not by being black harm anyone. Gay rights is a collective delusion that’s being attempted. And […]
In this week of Link Love, I leave you with this YouTube video, Hitler Explains Second Life. I include it in my writing feed because the dubbing is brilliantly witty. I guarantee you’ll find a line or two that sticks with you. Bookmark to:
Mark Doty’s Dog Years: A Memoir won in the nonfiction category for this year’s Stonewall Book Award, selected by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Roundtable of the American Library Association — passionate readers who spend a year steeped in this particular literature (“exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered experience”). Dog Years is a gorgeous […]