I am honored to be Jordan Rosenfeld’s Wednesday Essay today. Thank you, Jordan!

read it

Ms. Lori KILLS me (and Banjo Boy): I Married Banjo Boy

Susan Henderson interviews Ron Currie–read it.

Susan Henderson has a great interview with the delightful Ron Currie on her blog today. Read it. This, especially, cracked me up: The biggest difference is I don’t trust anyone anymore. If my girlfriend tells me how handsome I am apropos nothing, for example, I know what she’s really thinking is: ‘I hope he goes on the Daily Show so I can make out … Read More Susan Henderson interviews Ron Currie–read it.

The Million Writer Awards–notable stories of 2005 are now listed. The top ten will be listed on April 1. Congratulations to all of the notables.

Lunar Eclipse 2015

Read this cool little story–Lunar Eclipse 2015: May 28, 2105: The airlock door slid sideways and Jack stepped out onto the moon. The dusty ground was bright, reflecting light from the sun above. Squinting, Jack scanned the curved horizon. There: a smooth spot in the distance. “Perfect,” he thought as he bounded toward it, bunny-hopping Apollo-style.

"Earth’s shadow will brush the moon’s face"

Tonight is a penumbral lunar eclipse: You won’t see a dark “bite” taken from one edge of the moon Tuesday night. You won’t see the moon turn coppery red, as it does during total eclipse of the moon. But Earth’s shadow will brush the moon’s face Tuesday night, making it possible to witness a subtle kind of eclipse, called a penumbral eclipse of the … Read More "Earth’s shadow will brush the moon’s face"

"He is a dreamer"

The ides are not until tomorrow but today, let’s read here 1.2.1: Sooth. Beware the ides of March. Caes. –What man is that? Bru. A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March. Caes. Set him before me; let me see his face. Cas. Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Caesar. Caes. What say’st thou to me now? speak once again. Sooth. Beware … Read More "He is a dreamer"

"It owes you its entire existence"

Let’s talk about readers–those generous folks who agree to read drafts of our work and give feedback. Here’s what Stephen Koch has to say in The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop: We have said that you should write your first draft behind closed doors. But when you have moved beyond the first-draft phase, you would be very foolish indeed not to turn to other people … Read More "It owes you its entire existence"

"revision is all there is"

I took a few days off from my manuscript after finishing a large, mechanical revision. This morning, I’m ready to start anew. I’m turning, once again, to Stephen Koch in The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop: We have said from the beginning that all writing lives off a two-stroke heartbeat of releasee followed by taking control. Antoher term for this rhythmic alternation between letting go … Read More "revision is all there is"

Draft/Draft/Undraft/Redraft

This morning I went back to my journals. I opened March 2004. Here is something I wrote in my journal then: So much in march. So much in it. The gray, gray sky. Trees, burdened with late falling snow. Trees aching and arching. And limbs that break into goosebumps at the thought of brushing against them. The buds were out red and proper and … Read More Draft/Draft/Undraft/Redraft

"a world as distinct as that of a poem"

Here’s a lovely piece from today’s paper–Hindered by language, united by love of words, by David Masello: I explained that I was spending a 10-day vacation in Vitorchiano studying poetry, the writing and reading of it with a famous American poet named David Baker and 15 other students. I knew my Italian wasn’t sufficient to tell her that even though I make my living … Read More "a world as distinct as that of a poem"

Storytellers

I watched VH1’s storytellers last night. It’s a show I’d never sought out because I figured it would be hokey. But I was flipping channels and stopped on the episode with Bruce Springsteen. It was magnificent. I loved how he deconstructed his songs, bit by bit and then afterwards he would say something like, “Do you think I was thinking all these things while … Read More Storytellers