Writer
The Summer Abroad — now available on KINDLE. Purchase here. Did you buy it? Good. On the fence? Let me tell you a story. Perhaps it’ll help you make up your mind. So, storytime. Gather ’round the fire. (Wood crackles. Embers spark. And a wolf howls in brisk autumn air.) In 2013 I […]
This morning I assigned my students two simple writing prompts, exercising the present tense. They had to use the words “as soon as,” “first,” “next,” “then,” “before/after,” and “when.” We all learned. For example, I realized, as I chalked the prompts on the blackboard, that “when” plays as the middle child between “before” and “after.” […]
Three dark themes stalk this journey into self-publishing: Bursts of tinkering, troubleshooting, and anxiety. Of course there are luminous elements holding hands with me as we progress. But those lights shine in between and at the end of the journey. Last Friday, I received the edited draft from the professor-editor who agreed to […]
Wouldn’t it be nice to dive a little deeper, to investigate, to engage? Curiosity can sometimes feel like holding our breath, but at least this way we can swim down into a deep subject, without swallowing any water. Metaphors enough. For this weekend’s post the idea of interviewing a fellow writer made a lot […]
A buddy sent me this sketch from College Humor last Sunday, which satirizes the stereotypes Americans have against New Yorkers. My favorite part was the joke about NYC getting criticized more than any other city. “Nobody ever talks shit about Cincinnati,” says the man from Ohio. “That’s actually a great point,” replies the […]
The stories we tell ourselves set the standards we live by. The love stories from the title, which are three, are to come. But first, a joust. An architect, a cook, and a writer walk up to a British immigration officer. This is literally what happened when our father, my brother, and I entered […]
This week, I met with an ex-workshop peer from way back (from last year). She is currently working on her own thesis project, which explores the current fiction-workshop model, how it fosters or damages originality, and what universities can do about it. Having participated in the same workshop ourselves, she was keen to discuss. […]
Ice cream. Outer space. Reflex. Lombok, Indonesia. LCD Soundsystem. Bullseye. Zeker. Mosque. Date. По-русски. Brighton Beach. Vial. Malachite. Autobiography. Vanidades. Superman. Zelda. Sk8ter boi. Summer. Twentysomething. Yawp. Kebab. Kiss. Two-hundred hungry loud Texans. Moons. Gray-whiskered and rough. Argos. Estrangement. Imperceptible smile. Low gravity. Cigarette. Astronomy. Burnt-orange bag. Black Hercules. Queso. Parallax and birth control. Ladies […]
