I finished the first draft of my novel-in-progress last week. Before you suggest breaking out the champagne, I have to remind you (and myself) this is just the beginning of a very long road. I don’t outline in advance, so to say my first drafts are messy is an understatement. But it definitely feels good [...]

…not for the Bowling Green subway station in New York City, as this photo I took back in March would have you believe, but Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Starting this fall, I’ll be a student and graduate teaching assistant in BGSU’s MFA program. That means I’m leaving my editorial position here in Cleveland [...]

I’m working on something really radical these days: I’m trying to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Every night. Including weeknights. I know, it’s an extreme goal. At the same time, I’m unwilling to give up my morning writing sessions. This means if I don’t get to bed early enough, my writing [...]

So guess who’s here to keep me company at my writing desk this weekend? That’s right — there’s nothing better to encourage a writer who hasn’t written in weeks than this little anatomically correct reminder of mortality. This thing has been in my house for months but now it’s front and center on my desk [...]

The other day I sat at my writing desk gazing out the window while feeling pretty proud of myself and all the progress I’ve made so far on my new novel. I haven’t finished the first draft quite yet, but I can see the beginning of the end. So I sat there dreaming up my [...]

I have a writing deadline edging dangerously close for a project that is not quite ready yet, and I’m also trying to squeak out a draft of a new essay to submit to a writing group. Monday was a work holiday, and I theoretically had all day to do whatever I chose. I of course [...]

Part I  

Several years ago, before much of anything was happening in my writing career, I learned that a writer I’d been loosely connected to years ago had landed a book deal. As this news sank in, so did a feeling of dread. At first I wasn’t even conscious of how terrible I felt, maybe because I [...]

Yes, it has come to this: a post consisting entirely of the mugs that hold my trusty tea or coffee while writing. We’ve reached a new low, friends. But without further adieu, please enjoy my caffeine receptacles and the stories of how they came to grace my writing desk: Above: This is the mug that [...]

One of my best friends is brilliant and creative and artsy. Her life is also extremely busy — she works full-time in a demanding field and also recently returned to school to earn her MBA. In addition to all this, she’s making time for her art, too. A few weeks ago, she sent me the [...]