Writing
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Starlight & Streetlight
With stars and Streetlights Guiding me, I got lost all the same. Searching for The sunrise, I Heard whispers Of my name. Heavenly Dance slows for Nobody, Poets and sleepers alike. Starlight and Streetlight will Keep their shine Long into the night.
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Time & Space
Eternity Passes, like Dregs of the Milky Way Trickling through Space. Cosmic Light fades in The heat of Ancient Sun.
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How Books Resemble Flowers
Writing a story is like growing a flower in the sense that you can’t rush it. The plant won’t bloom if you don’t give it the care it requires: some need more water, others wither if you give them too much. I learned through gardening and writing that it’s best not to control things too…
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My Struggle with Perfectionism
Do you know your biggest obstacle against creativity? As a writer, perfectionism has kept me from making a good deal of progress. Much is said about Writer’s Block or the phobia of cliches being reasons why we don’t make progress. We rarely address a hidden problem. It’s the idea of striving to write a scene…
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On Robert Frost and the Rise of Poetry
We are fortunate to be living in a time when poetry is once again becoming popular. Instagram poetry is on the rise; it’s easy to post our work for thousands to see. If we learn the use of hashtags and posting times, we can build an impressive following. It is a breath of relief, since…
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Bird by Bird: On Writing & Honesty
What does it mean to be a writer? Ask anyone who practices the craft. You might hear several answers, because people have different reasons. Anne Lamott’s memoir Bird by Bird offers a response I believe few would disagree with: The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop…
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A Place of Light
This is another excerpt from my journal that I would like to share. It needs editing, but I liked it, and hope you will too! There’s a lot of light in this place. It’s a haven of pure air and high spirits. It makes me feel like there’s no darkness left in my reality; by…
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On Storytelling
What does it mean to be a storyteller? Stories are places of refuge for people frightened by the realities of this world. They provide rest when we are too weak to dwell on reality. Story is salve for the wounds inflicted by life. A well-told story comforts us. We seek depth and meaning. We find…
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David Copperfield: Escapism and Books
Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield is, in many respects, autobiographical. Readers see the protagonist in bleak situations, many of which take root in things the author himself experienced–child abuse, poverty, instances when it was difficult to count one’s blessings. As a reader and writer, the following paragraph stood out to me. It describes Copperfield as a…
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12/22/2017
i believe in honesty – x is x and y is y – like frost on snowy days, and also in the off-key notes that every artist plays, half-developed photographs, barely thought out rhymes, and in the bizarre colors that you see when you take time.
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New Plans for The Autumn Prince
This year has not been my greatest writing-wise. I finished one draft of a novel I’m happy with; everything else turned out to be a mess. Perhaps 2017 has been too emotionally loaded for me to connect with characters. Maybe it’s more optimistic: it could be that I’ve improved so much, I can’t be happy…
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Adventures in French
They say to pay attention to what interests you most, because it is part of you. In the past, if asked what my passion was in life, I would likely have responded, “Writing.” I would have said without hesitation that I lived for story, nothing more and nothing less, but as we grow, we learn.…
Mariella Hunt & the Tearoom 