Owl Busters

*Names have been changed. It begins with the smell of wet leather, then the steady scuffing of boots down the aisle of the school bus. It’s a scene from my past except now I’m reliving it with [...]

Toeing the Line

At dusk, I walked along the frozen-lipped edge of Green Lake, it’s shore a mere two hundred feet from my cabin. There, wintering shrubs poked through the snow, each thin-tipped stalk aiming [...]

The End of Anonymity

I’ve lived and worked in enough communities to understand that my first night on campus was also likely to be my last night as an anonymous individual. Show up in the middle of winter in the [...]

NC, TN, KY, OH

We loaded up just after sunrise but before staring the car I had to take Gus on a final walk. Twenty minutes through sunrise heading uphill into the Pisgah National Forest made for a fantastic [...]

Day 5: Pacific Residency

I could tell you about Brady Udall’s craft lecture on fixed, received, and moving action in stories. Or I could tell you about Pam Houston’s powerhouse discussion of metaphor, memory, trauma, and [...]

Day 3: Pacific Residency

It’s hard to put Day 3 into words if for nothing else than the fact that I’m exhausted. But it began with silent reading about the great lakes region. I read in bed in my pajamas, the heaving [...]

Here We Go!

It’s my last night in North Carolina before this “year or two on the road” technically begins. The obvious question is: How did I get here? First, I was laid off from my part-time job slinging [...]

Method to the Madness

[I am certain the past two weeks are the longest hiatus in the history of this Writing Life Blog. I am pleased to report that my MacBook Pro survived minor surgery and safely resides upon my desk [...]

The Date is Set

We’re lined up at the kamiza (spirit seat) at the end of karate class, about ready to bow off the mat. Hanshi remembers something suddenly, steps into the office, then returns to our line with [...]

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