A few weeks ago I realized I needed to simplify my life to maintain focus on finishing my novel-in-progress. That is when I put this blog into what I’ve called “A Brief Pause,” so I would stop writing about matters of life and death and focus on...
When (How) Does a Novel Become a Novel?
I began a new novel recently and, while I’ve been contemplating the idea for a while, I’ve had trouble feeling the project is gaining traction. I am questioning whether the idea has sufficient coherence and gravitas, along with the legs for me to...
I Never Intended to Write a Sequel
I never intended to write a sequel. I’ve always thought of my novels as one-offs, stories that may be open-ended at their conclusion, but still convey the sense on the last page that things are done. Sequels are for mystery writers and writers of...
Creating Art in Dark Times
Dear Friends, Readers, Sympathizers, Things are beginning to change. The election is finally over (mostly), and the doomsday outlook of the last few years is loosening its grip. Here in my neck of the woods the awareness of...
Beginning Again
I am just now, on the heels of the election, beginning to write a new novel. As often happens, several obsessions I’ve been nursing for a while, have suddenly come together as a narrative, as if they were charged magnets, needing to connect. It’s...