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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02/13/23 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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To the Young Who Want to Die: Roxane Gay Reads Gwendolyn Brooks’s Lifeline of a Poem
Here’s the link to this article. “The gun will wait. The lake will wait. The tall gall in the small seductive vial will wait will wait.” BY MARIA…
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Writing Journal—Monday writing prompt
As he’s taking out his garbage before work, a neighbor kicks your protagonist’s dog. In a twist of fate, the neighbor forgets to close his garage door as…
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A Language for the Exhilaration of Being Alive: The Poetic Physicist Alan Lightman on Music and the Universe
Here’s the link to this article. “Nowhere is the joy of existence so apparent as in music… Intelligent life-forms have created a multitude of sounds that express their…
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02/12/23 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—Sunday writing prompt
Your protagonist is enjoying a bonfire with friends when he spots lights in the sky. Describe what happens next. One Stop for Writers Guidance & tips Write the…
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Mushrooms: Cellist Zoë Keating Brings to Life Sylvia Plath’s Poem About the Tenacity of the Creative Spirit
Here’s the link to this article. “Our foot’s in the door.” BY MARIA POPOVA They were the first to colonize the Earth. They will inherit it long after…
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Drafting–Layover in Newark, part B
“Mom, can I ask a question, a personal question?” Molly knew her mother would answer, unless it concerned Michael, her biological father. “Of course.” Millie answered using a…
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Writing Journal—Saturday writing prompt
Your character finds a magical music box. When it plays, the listener can see their own future, either the best thing that will ever happen, or the worst.…
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02/10/23 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…
Richard L. Fricks 