This morning, Leo would not wear his rain boots, the ones he loved so last year, because they are polka dotted and have “girl colors” on them. It was clear to both Leo and me that he still loved them, that he was censoring himself because of others’ ideas—ideas he knows I do not condone, […]
Five Keys to Writing Across Difference: by Elizabeth Stark Read More »
I just started going to a local yoga class. I’ve done yoga here and there over the years, but I am no one you could call a yogi. But I’ve been learning some things in this class that have translated to my writing practice, and I wanted to share those with you. First, my teacher,
The Yoga of Writing: by Elizabeth Stark Read More »
1) It’s easier. It’s easier to do something every day than it is to do it sometimes. Habit forms by consistency, and when we can stop thinking about it, trying to squeeze it in, wondering if we’ll do it, and instead just do it—for however brief a time span—we save time by not thinking and
Five Reasons to Write Every Day: by Elizabeth Stark Read More »
People expect writers to be happy. We’ve chosen this life for no logical reason or material gain. It must make us happy. And it should—sometimes. But even the most passionate entrepreneur or dedicated director of a non-profit has aspects of the job that, well, suck. Days that are blah or disappointing, effort that seems to
Happy Writing: by Elizabeth Stark Read More »
I think and write about writing as facing the blank page. These days it’s more likely to be the white rectangle with an electronic backdrop of gray, toolbar above and dock below. A torturous invitation: what do you have to say? A playground of space to be filled. For a time I used large sketchbooks,
The Blank Page and Other Spaces: Finding Silence by Elizabeth Stark Read More »
I just created a new, free class in the form of a three-part guide to “Modeling Masters,” and I want to share with you some of the lessons I learned or remembered in the creation of this product. 1) Pieces. Breaking down what you do intuitively into steps you can teach and transfer to someone
Five Writing-Related Lessons I Learned This Week “Modeling Masters:” by Elizabeth Stark Read More »
The body remembers stories. The body remembers stories in details. What we were wearing, where we were standing, what precisely we were doing when . . . The world is frozen in time, only not frozen, but captured. A small film of a moment. We see it. This is the moment before, the ordinary world.
September 11, 2012: Stories, by Elizabeth Stark Read More »
As some of you know well, the author Thaisa Frank will be visiting the Book Writing World this week, on Thursday, 5 – 6 p.m. to talk about craft, the writing life and her new collection, Enchantment, a book full of a diverse array of long and short fiction, some surreal, some autobiographical, some both
The Big Picture: Goals, Lists and Books: by Elizabeth Stark Read More »
What will teach us to write? “The page, the page,” says Annie Dillard in The Writing Life. I concur, but there are two pages that teach us to write, the blank page which we (I paraphrase Annie Dillard) cover with our scribble knowing that we ruin whatever we touch but touching it nonetheless . .
What will teach us to write? by Elizabeth Stark Read More »
Next week, my kids start kindergarten. Do you remember your first day of kindergarten? What I remember about mine in that the teachers were on strike—that day and for six more weeks. There is a photograph of me, in a leotard, sitting with my father on the cement barrier that lined the lawn and curved
The First Day of Kindergarten and Other Tricks for Writers: by Elizabeth Stark Read More »
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