Writing and Grammar
I confess to being a grammar nut (or is it “Nazi”?) and, what’s worse, I’m proud of it. I don’t have any problem with writing that incorporates bad grammar in dialogue or even, in some circumstances, in the author’s own words, but only if the author chooses to write that way on purpose. Language is […]
New Year and Writing Resolutions
Here we are again, just over a week after the start of a new year, and deciding whether or not to make resolutions. For me, that means writing resolutions. I suspect that a primary writing resolution (if you make one) is to spend more time writing, which means giving writing higher priority. Sometimes this is […]
Writing Time: Perception vs. Reality
Here we are in the week between year-end holidays and, if we’re lucky, we are on holiday between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. For years, I worked and envied those who were off, but for several years now, my time has been my own and I feel sorry for those who have to squeeze holiday […]
Inspiration from my Scholar OLLI students
For the last couple of years, I’ve had the privilege of leading a class called “Writing in All Forms” for Scholar OLLI on the Concord Campus of California State University, East Bay. For those who don’t know, OLLI stands for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The founder, Bernard Osher, makes grants from his foundation to […]
Poetry in the Time of Holidays
I have a love/hate relationship with holidays. On the love side, summer holidays enable me to engage with new experiences that work their way into my writing sooner or later (I call it experiential research). In fall/winter, I see family and friends more often and connect through annual cards with the people I don’t normally […]