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: Revision
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
Standing Beside the Witness
What writing has been teaching me lately. This week, while working on both the Billy and Molly series and I Dare You, Teacher, I realized how much my own writing has changed. Months ago, I often approached difficult ideas the way a courtroom lawyer approaches a witness. My instinct was to expose contradictions, challenge assumptions,… Continue reading Standing Beside the Witness
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
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
The Permission You Were Waiting For
Some lives are shaped by waiting. Not obvious waiting, maybe. Not sitting still. Not doing nothing. From the outside, the life may look responsible, busy, productive, even successful. But underneath the motion, something may still be waiting. Waiting to be told it is all right. Waiting for approval. Waiting for certainty. Waiting for a sign.… Continue reading The Permission You Were Waiting For
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
A Place Apart Is Not an Answer
A quiet place can be misunderstood. It is easy to imagine that if we could only get away, everything would become clear. If we could step out of the noise, leave the usual rooms, silence the phone, walk under trees, sit by a window, or spend a few days alone, then the answer might finally… Continue reading A Place Apart Is Not an Answer
When Thought Pretends to Be Truth
A thought can arrive with the force of a fact. It may say: You have failed. You are behind. They are disappointed in you. You should have known better. This will not work. You are too old to begin again. Nothing is really changing. The strange thing is not that thoughts appear. The strange thing… Continue reading When Thought Pretends to Be Truth
The Pencil-Driven Life 