Despite publishing openly and widely about so much in my life, you may notice that I rarely write directly about two things: My Christian faith and my politics. I haven’t wanted these divisive topics to limit my opportunities to be in conversation across difference, something I dearly value. That said, my writing career began with […]
How do we live in fearful times? Read More »
So you’re at the sink, washing up the breakfast dishes when a writing idea pops into your head. It’s brilliant; it blazes through your body. Do you: A) Dismiss it because you can’t do it justice,B) Disregard it because the world’s on fire and there are more important things to do, orC) Heed it and head to the writing desk?
React or Respond: A Choose Your Own Adventure Read More »
The following list is compiled from readers of my 2024 Year in Books list, which you can read here, and from members of the Eye of the Heart Center for Creative Contemplation’s Writing Community. If you’re looking for fellow readers and writers, I’d love to see you there. Reading means to be ready to catch
Books Recommended by Readers Read More »
I wish I could be again the reader I was at age twelve, when each novel Mrs. Fermin the librarian handed me dependably launched me into a thrilling, expansive realm, after which I’d reenter the junior high halls bearing secrets—more than this grind is possible! Until encountering Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness in eighth grade, I had
The Year in Books 2024 Read More »
I’d like to make a confession. On Sunday mornings, I sit in church internally spinning out a reactive, biting critique of the service, how hollow and performative it is, how the sermons charge us to do justice and love kindness and walk humbly without ever addressing how, feeling mightily superior about the vibrancy of my prayer
Creative Bypassing: Grist for the Mill Read More »
I’ve heard sculptors say that, when a piece isn’t working, the best way forward isn’t to chip away at the details but rather smash it to the ground. Only devastation will make possible a new vision. Writers do the equivalent. In The Release I relate how, when Benjamin Percy spent two years writing a novel
A Moment that Matters Read More »
Unsurprisingly, these days I’ve been pondering the word “release”. Prisoners are released from jail, butterflies are released from cocoons, classified documents are released to the public, singers release their latest albums, and when we weep or rage we release emotions. My favorite definition of release is “to allow something to move, act, or flow freely”;
When the Creative Beaver Dam Bursts Read More »
As I begin the bizarrely self-referential work of releasing The Release, I’m test-driving the teachings I put forward there. Can I really find increasing freedom as I send this book into the world? Can marketing and publicity really be life-giving? Can I sustain writing’s energizing, personally enriching exchange with mystery—the gift economy of the creative process—as
The Courage to Ask for Help Read More »
Your writing projects are your babies. Sometimes you dream about them before conception; sometimes they emerge in a passionate rush. You raise them with care, patience, frustration, labor, and abiding joy. Like child-rearing, revision is long, arduous, and meaningful. Often it seems the kid will never grow up. Then your baby is grown. The project is complete—more or less. It is
Here’s a peek into THE RELEASE, which comes out this October! Read More »
Do you ever feel self-conscious on the page? A shout-out to the Brevity blog for publishing these reflections on stumbling our way to consciousness through writing. When my partner Emily teaches traditional circle dance to a group of newbies, they go through a predictable progression. First, they stride easily into the class, unaware of their
What can dancing teach us about writing? Read More »