My first job after college was working the night shift at a store downtown. I frequently had to close the store alone and catch the last Red Line east to get off at the lonely, rickety East 120th rapid stop. (If I was lucky and got out before midnight. Otherwise Read more…
My father is a fine artist, an oil painter and sculptor. He dabbled in almost every medium. “Never stop learning,” he’d say. “The day you stop learning is the day you stop living.” I never knew a life without artistic pursuits, or sage advice relating thereto. When I think about Read more…
So there I was, in my natural habitat, the dancefloor. I was in my early twenties, getting my groove on, flirting with the boys, attracting a lot of them, keeping them in line, not paying for drinks. Not to brag. Okay, to brag. Then, this girl taps me on the Read more…
Sorry, I’m a little distracted. Remember that feeling you had when they announced the Star Wars prequels? And you didn’t even have the faintest suspicion that they could possibly suck? How about that feeling when you read that awesome book and then you found someone else had read it too, Read more…
“This story just needs… more,” the editor said. “It feels thin.” Thanks, I thought, that’s not quite the vaguest advice ever. But then my husband turned it around for me with a metaphor. Hubby and I were talking about stories having channels, like sound channels in a music composition. This Read more…
I’m starting to learn how to add suspense to my stories. Something I often lack because I’m such a nut about being brief. Naturally, the way I think best about suspense is to look at it through the lens of poetry. Warning: The following contains POETRY COMPOSED IN A Read more…
We make things harder than they actually are. Take rock-climbing. The beginning rock-climber takes way more steps and hand-holds than she actually needs. Trust me. I’m a beginner. I will not move an inch unless I am braced with both feet and both hands and the distance to step is Read more…