Like church, the art museum offers free admission. Priceless art, for free. But no. I remind myself: nothing is free because everything has been paid for by someone. I imagine sitting before Picasso's Guernica. The Guernica is silent. It hangs there, unobtrusive. Patient. I can decide whether to sit and let it in or walk …
Fear Gets it Done
This act of turning formless fear into places and characters [is] what a good writer does. - Rebecca Moon Ruark When I have written, and my task is to revise, revise, revise—that's my sweet spot. This can only happen after I've actually done the grunt work of pulling a story from who-knows-where, that mystical place …
Spontaneous 9: Smart, Honest, Critical
What every writer needs: a smart, honest, critical reader. Or in a perfect world, a posse of smart-honest-criticals. Let's face it. If you have an Einsteinian friend, but he only heaps praise upon your work and doesn't share what could be better, how does that help? If you have an Eeyore-type who honestly sees prickles …
Spontaneous 8 Drama on the High Sea
They say there's always a cruise story. Here's one you wouldn't expect. How does this relate to writing? A writer must be able to see the worst possible scenario in order to create tense moments, but she must also be ready to see the best, to be the ultimate optimist. So I got a rejection, …
Writing is a Solitary Pursuit. Being Read, a Sociable One.
Writing is a solitary pursuit. I remember telling my professor-uncle I wanted to be a writer. His response was that I should prepare for a painful, lonely existence. I was in college and had taken a few writing classes. Still high on workshop praise and being ever the pragmatist, I decided writing was the "career" …
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Another Heart Melted by Abbott
I had to repost this from my dear friend, Nancy Beach, who blogs at filledtoempty.com. She's an amazing writer, and she brings joy to everyone she meets. I remember the day she and Abbott met, the day she decided to hang out in my family room with a sharp-toothed animal that scared the lights out …
Goodbye, Abbott
When I walk in the door, Abbott is always there to greet me with his enormous shnaz (our word for his nose) and his beautiful, watery eyes that gaze at me with absolute adoration. There's something heady about being in the crosshairs of dog-love. I pat his head and ask, "How's my favorite?" I have …
Life is Short. Eat Cake.
In 2018 thanks to a brain tumor, I was struck by the truth that life-is-short. Okay, it sucker-punched me. I survived 2018, and in 2019, probably as a result of making it through mostly unscathed, was hit by this truth: eat cake. The two phrases together make up what I hope will be my 2020 …
5000 Words Fall, 2019 Writing Contest Winners!
It's that time of year again! 5000 Words students participated in a workshop and writing contest, and the winners have been chosen. But not by me—they judge each other. It's the good sort of judging. This session we read Watership Down by Richard Adams, a quest story with leadership and courage themes...and it's entirely about …
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KL Griffiths 