For many years I wrote about fiction, story, belief, ordinary life, and the questions that shaped my work. More than two thousand essays remain here—not because every one represents my current thinking, but because together they tell the story of a writer learning over time.
Search for a subject, browse by month and year, or begin with the most recent writing below.
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The archive begins with the most recent writing. Use the numbered pages below to move backward through time.
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02/16/23 Biking & Listening
Biking is something else I both love and hate. It takes a lot of effort but does provide good exercise and most days over an hour to listen…
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Drafting–Millie and Molly arrive in NYC
Millie had a splitting headache when the bus pulled into the George Washington Bridge Bus Station. Finally, they were in New York City. After twenty-eight hours from the…
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Writing Journal—Thursday writing prompt
Your character moves into a home that has been passed down through the generations. On her third night, she discovers something hidden behind a loose baseboard that changes…
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Consciousness and the Constellations: Cognitive Scientist Alexandra Horowitz Reads and Reflects on Robert Frost
“You’ll wait a long, long time for anything much to happen…” Here’s the link to this article. BY MARIA POPOVA The first English use of the word space to connote…
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02/15/23 Biking & Listening
Biking is something else I both love and hate. It takes a lot of effort but does provide good exercise and most days over an hour to listen…
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Writing Journal—Wednesday writing prompt
Your character broke both legs in a water skiing accident and is bedridden for the next month. Bored with TV, she sets up her telescope to watch the…
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The Beginning and the End: Robinson Jeffers’s Epic Poem About the Interwoven Mystery of Mind and Universe
Here’s the link to this article. “Pleasure and pain, wonder, love, adoration, hatred and terror: how do these thing grow from a chemical reaction?” BY MARIA POPOVA “We…
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02/14/23 Biking & Listening
Biking is something else I both love and hate. It takes a lot of effort but does provide good exercise and most days over an hour to listen…
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Drafting–Over steak dinner, Colton explains to Sandy why Mildred Simmons must ‘go’
It was almost six when Colton was awakened by Sandy’s yelling, “dinner’s served.” By the tone of his voice, this wasn’t the first time he’d broadcast the announcement.…
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Writing Journal—Tuesday writing prompt
Your protagonist is flipping through a book at the library when a note falls out. It contains a message from someone begging for help, along with an address.…
Richard L. Fricks 