Writing: The gap between

There are times when I wonder why I write.  I used to paint, obsessively. I did so for twenty years. I think my lowest point—caught in the worst of the obsession—was when I ignored Thanksgiving dinner for hours because I had to get one gesture right and the paint wasn’t cooperating. This is what painting …

Using Research to Get Past Writer’s Block

I love telling stories that sweep around the world to exotic locations.  I can indulge my fantasies about travel -- an ancestor of mine traveled across the Sahara by car when she was a young woman, unmarried, and I've always envied her spirited zest for life.  Perhaps that's why I became a writer.  I can …

Finding Ideas

I've been asked often -- where do you find your ideas? Well, I'm not really sure, they sort form out of the magic ether... Okay, it was a serious question and it deserves a somewhat serious answer.  I don't always know where the ideas come from, other than some arrive pretty confident about who they …