I’ve spent much of this week working on I Dare You, Teacher, a book I first wrote years ago and have now substantially revised. Some of the work has involved large questions. What is this book really trying to say? Where does it sound too much like the courtroom lawyer I once was? Am I… Continue reading When Another Word Doesn’t Help
Tag: Attention
What Is Actually on the Shelf?
I have an odd habit at night. I reread my own novels. I’ve been doing it for years, and I suppose there are several reasons for it. I enjoy returning to the characters. I notice things I would write differently now. Sometimes I remember exactly where I was when I wrote a particular scene; other… Continue reading What Is Actually on the Shelf?
What Revision Asks Us to Let Go
I’ve spent a good bit of time lately going back through writing I did months ago, particularly early work on the Billy and Molly series and I Dare You, Teacher. It’s an interesting experience, reading something you remember writing but no longer seeing it quite the way you did when you wrote it. Some of… Continue reading What Revision Asks Us to Let Go
The Measure of Value
Some things reward us immediately. A smile returned. A thank-you from a friend. A task completed before lunch. We naturally enjoy those moments because they reassure us that our effort mattered. But much of what gives life its deepest meaning doesn’t work that way. Planting a tree is an act of faith. The person who… Continue reading The Measure of Value
Thought Is Not the Same as Attention
Some people spend their lives thinking. Others spend their lives paying attention. At first glance, those sound like the same thing. They are not. It is possible to think all day without noticing very much. Our minds are remarkably good at replaying old conversations, rehearsing future ones, defending our opinions, and solving problems that have… Continue reading Thought Is Not the Same as Attention
When a Role Outlives the Reason for It
Some roles begin because they are needed. A family is struggling, and one child becomes the responsible one. A parent is overwhelmed, and someone learns not to add another problem. Conflict fills the house, and one person becomes the peacemaker. Money is uncertain, and someone becomes the provider. A community rewards certainty, and someone becomes… Continue reading When a Role Outlives the Reason for It
The Voice That Sounds Like You
Some thoughts arrive in a voice so familiar that we never think to question who is speaking. You should be doing more. Don’t disappoint them. Keep the peace. Be useful. A good person wouldn’t feel this way. The voice sounds like us because it has lived inside us for a long time. It may have… Continue reading The Voice That Sounds Like You
What a Pencil Can Do That a Phone Cannot
Most people do not think much about a pencil. It is too ordinary, too simple, too old, too slow. It does not light up. It does not connect to anything. It does not save your passwords, count your steps, send your messages, store your photographs, show you the weather, play your music, or tell you… Continue reading What a Pencil Can Do That a Phone Cannot
When Certainty Becomes Too Heavy
Certainty can feel like shelter. For a long time, it may give a person a place to stand. It can make the world feel ordered, explainable, and held together. It can tell us who we are, what matters, what is right, what is wrong, where we belong, and what story our life is supposed to… Continue reading When Certainty Becomes Too Heavy
When the Day Refuses to Follow the Plan
Some days begin with a plan. Not necessarily a dramatic plan. Just a reasonable one. A few things to finish. A few errands to run. A call to make. A page to write. A repair to handle. A room to clean. A task that has waited too long and finally needs attention. The plan may… Continue reading When the Day Refuses to Follow the Plan
The Pencil-Driven Life 