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I hit the gym four times during Round Two of my self-imposed boot camp, working the Wavemaster and heavy bag each time, along with kata training using the mirrors for precision and cario training [...]

The students entered that wonderful space of focus again this afternoon as we continued working on our found poems in altered books. As someone who has spent a lot of time with teenagers in [...]

A few times each session, I teach what Interlochen calls “forum.” This involves all 39 Intermediate (middle school) Creative Writing Majors gathering in The Great Room for an hour-long activity [...]

One requirement of the Intermediate Creative Writing Majors at Interlochen Summer Arts Camp is to experience “workshop.” For most 6-9th graders, this is a first. They’ve never had their work [...]

On July 1st, I join Fit For You health club. It’s the only one in town with a heavy bag that isn’t a fight club. They’re letting me in for no fees up front and $80 for 2 months. It’ll cost [...]

I love walking to the lake a night. Just a few minutes through the cooling evening air and I’m here, sand beneath my sneakers and the steady lull of lapping as water pushes against shore. One of [...]

When I broke my foot last fall, there’s a part of myself I had to steal away. At the peak of my own personal fitness, I’d just hiked over 100 miles in Alaska, flown to Michigan to pick up my car, [...]

Months of rejection letters and today: one NYC agent interested in my work. I can say that I experienced approximately 20 seconds of elation when I received the news. The twelve hours immediately [...]

When I first learned about Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, I almost didn’t believe it. You mean there are kids out there who will voluntarily spend time indoors during the summer? Actually [...]

[I’m open to feedback on the new look of The Writing Life, which now doubles as my website. I still have a few pesky issues to resolve—for example, these hideous blue and purple links which [...]