Why I'm Here

Finding myself in the hinterlands of America and desiring a dialog with like-minded individuals, I begin this blog to connect to those who consider writing a passion, a calling. This is not a blog for the hobbyist, the some-timer or the little engines who mutter, I think I can, I think I can. This blog is for those for whom writing is a necessary appendage, an appendage whose amputation would cause severe hemorrhaging, and if survived, would leave an obvious limp. Having said that, I welcome you into this conversation concerning all things writing: the craft, the life, all of it--the agonies and the ecstacies.

This summer finds me finishing off a novel. For me personally, this means beginning a new one that is different enough to catapult me out of the world I've been living in for too long while generating enough excitement to make my mourning of the old project bearable. Distance is everything. I will probably try to get away to the mountains for a week or so, for some--one less bell to answer, one less egg to fry--time, to jump start the new work. My first love is short stories and I just popped one for a reading I had in NY this past week. By writing it, I don't know if I was prolonging the end of my novel or preparing for its end. There's a thin line between procrastination and procrastination, sometimes it can look exactly like productivity. Anyway, the piece was well received and I was happy and isn't that the point? Each summer I also pick a writer and read as much of their work as I can. I just finished off Kiran Desai, but I haven't made up my mind about a choice for my summer reading. If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears. I thought about David Sedaris, (he's as funny as all hell) but I don't know if I can devote a whole summer to him. for my tastes, there's not much of a range from piece to piece. I started Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, did I make the wrong choice? I also started Joan Didion's, The Year of Magical Thinking (mainly because I'm teaching it next year). I've done the Didion list (she's one of my favorite nonfiction writers) but I mention it here because perhaps I'll want something lighter after I've finished this one.

Enough about me. If you happen by, I hope you'll share your thoughts, your passions, your pains (about writing), ask questions, provide answers, tell me what you're up to or not up to. I've started the dialog, please continue.