Category Archives: the writing life

What Happens To Them?

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Lately I have sounded a lot like my father in his last years, when he was in his nineties.  I breathe heavily when I move. Rising from a chair requires grunting with exertion.  Then there’ll be a series of thuds as I grab the handles of a walker and bump my way around corners or… Continue Reading

Lessons From A Two-Year-Old: The Limits Of Language

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I’m chagrined that I missed Banned Books Week at the end of September.  Normally I’d celebrate by buying as many as I can afford from an independent book store, but I was busy babysitting my two-year-old grandson while my daughter and son-in-law went on a four day trip.  This may not sound like a big deal to someone who hasn’t done… Continue Reading

A Life In Six Words

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I was recently asked by the editors of a small press to write my life story in six words and to “Be as pithy as possible.”  Seriously.  After fooling with this task for a completely ridiculous amount of time, choosing, discarding, and switching up the order of words, I grasped how revealing it is to do this.  I… Continue Reading

Why Writers Need To Exercise

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This one is easy.  Writers need to exercise because they spend way too much time sitting, usually with bad posture, usually in bad chairs.  At least this writer does. So after my little chiropractic adventure (see last post) I decided to listen to my brother-in-law, the orthopedic surgeon who seems to think that better exercise could… Continue Reading

Why Writers Need Good Chairs

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The most profound insight I’ve reached lately is that a writer needs an excellent chair.  Much better than the one I have, which I’m pretty sure is causing my back pain.  (Another possible cause is watching TV while yielding most of the couch to a self-centered Labrador retriever.  Hannah’s insistence on proximity to me for her after-dinner coma forces me to drape… Continue Reading

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