Tag: write
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May 31, 2023
I remember a school visit a long time ago when a third grader stood up and said: “Can you write a book without rewriting a book?” “No,” I said. “Shoot,” said the kid in a thoughtful voice. “There’s got to be some way around that.” I thought about that child when I woke up this…
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October 7, 2020
“All art stands on the shoulders of craft, which means to get to the art, you must master the craft. If you want to write, practice writing.” –Ann Patchett I’ve been down in the basement, sorting through decades of files and boxes. I seem to have saved every attempt at writing I’ve made–every draft, every…
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September 30, 2020
I intended to write a post about re-writing. I went for a walk to think about what I wanted to say, and I saw this little toy lizard hidden in a hole in a brick wall. I walked right past her the first time. She was nothing but a small flash of green in the…
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February 27, 2020
I get asked (a lot) for writing tips and I’ll always give the same answer: read (as much as you can, as widely as you can), write (find a routine; a way to commit to doing the work), rewrite (again and again and again and again and again), keep a notebook (and take the notebook…
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July 25, 2019
Ramona has a new ball. We spend our days thusly: I write a sentence. Ramona rolls the ball under the couch. Ramona barks. I get up to retrieve the ball from under the couch. I sit down. I write another sentence. Ramona rolls the ball under the couch. Ramona barks. I get up. And so…
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November 13, 2018
I’ve talked to so many teachers recently who have asked for writing advice that they can give to their students. As I sit here in the early morning hours working on a novel, I’ve been thinking a lot about those students, those teachers and all of us who want to write. If there is one…