For about a year I haven’t been able to speak—something I have written about extensively in this blog—and for a year and a half before that my speech was compromised, slow and increasingly garbled. Needless to say, this has presented some...
The Power of Women
From the very beginnings of my storytelling career, I have been obsessed with the question of what it means to be a woman in a world that privileges men. My first produced play was about two women with ten “genderless” children who return home to...
Hello, Baby Radley
Two days ago my niece gave birth to a lovely healthy baby girl. I have not seen her in person, but I enjoy gazing at pictures of her tranquil sleeping face. There is nothing more beautiful and hopeful than seeing a new, unscarred human being. She...
Being a Woman
I learned recently that my niece will be giving birth to a girl in February. This is not surprising. Our family has been giving birth to women for going on four generations. My sisters and nieces and I adore each other’s company. We love to sing...
The End of the Beauty Trap: Opting for Eccentricity
Pages I hate to contemplate the number of hours I have devoted over the years to trying to beautify myself. Preening is a part of the lives of numerous animals, but the human species, especially females of the human species, have taken the...
The Still-lowly Status of Women
March is Women’s History Month and March 8th is International Women’s Day. Hooray, let’s celebrate! How can you not want to celebrate women? I come from a family predominated by women: aunts, sisters, nieces. I love hanging out with women of all...
The Hero’s Journey Paradigm: Why it doesn’t work for me as a female fiction writer
After dwelling in a period of uncertainty about what to write next, I recently plunged into developing an idea for a new novel. As always, the idea is filled with possible landmines and diversions that could sink the entire project and, as I’ve...