On the challenges of writing fiction, part 4

“I’ve been a little too depressing on my blog lately,” I said to my friend Diane the other night. We were eating tacos at Esquina, and trying to decide if they were as good as we remembered. “Huh,” said Diane, which meant something like You are not kidding, sister. “Maybe you should write about Greek…

Welcome to the Dojo Wisdom for Writers Book Club! Every Wednesday, we meet to discuss one of the lessons in Dojo Wisdom for Writers. We’ll go in order, so it’s easy enough to follow along. Read the lesson, then read the blog post, then comment in the comments! Do feel free to comment on each…

A blogger I follow — Laura Young at No Safe Distance — recently posted on the importance of carefully choosing role models. This got me to thinking about all of the teachers I’ve had over the years who’ve helped me to understand how to accomplish various goals. They’ve also helped me see the reality of…

The first one comes in the fall of Jessica’s junior year, a letter from the admissions office of Kansas State University. I don’t immediately recognize what it is. Once I do, for a moment hope flaps its vain and tinsel wings. Maybe it’s true. Maybe my daughter can go to college, and get a great…

A few weeks ago, my artist friend, Lynne Baur, commented that she could help me learn to draw after I mentioned that I’d love to do an illustrated book but have no artistic talent whatsoever. (She said, and I quote, “You shouldn’t take ‘can’t draw’ as an obstacle to an illustrated book.”) For a sample…

When I first began training in the martial arts, I had to learn to trust my teachers–when they said I could do something I didn’t think I could do, I had to try. Then I would discover that I could do the thing. As I became more accomplished in the martial arts, I realized that…