If the surgeon wanted to write his novel, he was first going to have to kill off the napkin-carrying part of his being.
Rudyard Kipling and Desire
If you aren't hungry to create, you likely won't
[Paul Madonna, the well-known San Francisco artist who beautifully illustrated my book A Writer’s San Francisco, was recently seriously injured in a car accident. I am wishing him a very speedy recovery and wanted to share with you a few pieces from that book that he enriched so much.] Rudyard Kipling did not fall…
Rodin at the Legion of Honor
Genetic selfishness dooms all but the most evolved relationships.
Genetic selfishness dooms all but the most evolved relationships.
The Perfect Landlord
The beauty of a cottage of your own, administered by a blitzed, benign landlord, a cottage where you can live anonymously and write naturally.
The beauty of a cottage of your own, administered by a blitzed, benign landlord, a cottage where you can live anonymously and write naturally.
At the Green Apple: The Art of Getting Better With Practice
The task is not to get it right the first time. The tasks are to learn from your pratfalls, and, by learning, to improve.
The task is not to get it right the first time. The tasks are to learn from your pratfalls, and, by learning, to improve.
Lying at the Top of the Mark
Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
You Are a Real Poet
The world may be insane, but it nevertheless demands your sanity.
The world may be insane, but it nevertheless demands your sanity.
Egg-cetera: How to Crack Through Everyday Resistance
If we doubt our writing even just a little, a hard shell arises to protect us from what we fear will be a miserable encounter.
If we doubt our writing even just a little, a hard shell arises to protect us from what we fear will be a miserable encounter.
Parenting Skills for Stay-at-Home Writers
If you have the luxury of being a stay-at-home writer and parent, you have the opportunity to try a radically different approach.
If you have the luxury of being a stay-at-home writer and parent, you have the opportunity to try a radically different approach.
Lessons From ‘A Writer’s San Francisco’: A Guided Journey for the Creative Soul
The view from Bernal Hill
The view from Bernal Hill
Smart Teens and the Challenge of College
Do smart teens experience college as a joyful place of growth and meaning? Or as something darker than that and different from that?
Do smart teens experience college as a joyful place of growth and meaning? Or as something darker than that and different from that?
The Five Ordeals That Smart Teens Face at School
Tests. Crushes. Team spirit. Boredom. Homework. What a life!
Tests. Crushes. Team spirit. Boredom. Homework. What a life!
Smart Teens and the Burden of Talent
Why being good at something creates harsh demands.
Why being good at something creates harsh demands.
How Circumstances Inhibit Teen Potential
Circumstances really matter; most of the circumstances of your life will not be in your control; this will produce stress and other serious consequences
circumstances really matter; most of the circumstances of your life will not be in your control; this will produce stress and other serious consequences.
Teens and Their Family Collisions
Understanding the negative effects of a rocky home life.
Understanding the negative effects of a rocky home life.
The Peer Pressure on Smart Teens
Nothing about peer relationships is straightforward.
Nothing about peer relationships is straightforward.