Good choices

When I first moved to New York City people put me in touch with a lot of writers because I wanted to write. (Writing is kind of a funny thing to network because to be a writer you just have to write but anyway) I went. One of these writers was a woman who had […]

Devotion

It’s more than work. More than sacrifice. It is like dedication, but with a prayer. It’s something spiritual. I don’t think you can be devoted to quantifiable things. Like, you can’t be devoted to grad school. Because how grad school works is you pay money, take tests and then you get a degree. But I […]

Wokesgiving part 2

Mom: There’s a typo in your blog. Me: I have like five hundred blog posts. Sometimes I make typos. Mom: Also the first Thanksgiving wasn’t in Virginia. Me: Well we were talking about Virginia last night I don’t know. That’s not really the point of the post. Mom: But as a writer that’s your job. […]

Overshare?

I spent a lot of last year not really on social media. And not really writing this blog. Which begs the question: where have I been? A few days ago an old friend told me to come visit them in Vermont, thinking that I was still nearby in New York City. And I realized that […]

Characters

I took an intro to creative writing class with Sidney Offit a few years ago. He gave us an assignment. “Write the first chapter of the story of your life.” A student asked, “Does it have to be real?” Sidney shrugged. “You are all characters to me.” There is: a man on the first floor […]

(Earth) resident

Today is my last day as a writer in residence in Nebraska City. I don’t want to go I love it here. I love getting up early to write. My favorite hours are the quiet ones when the light changes from grey to white. I’ve learned that at 7:40 every morning the school bus comes […]