Collaboration… Friday Flick: Drew in Concert 10 Jun 20113 Jun 2011 Full disclosure: I raised this amazing composer. And I would still love his music even if I hadn't. Drew Nichols is a "third stream" composer, combining classical and jazz, so…
Books… How Do I Know? 6 Jun 2011 A friend asked today, "How do I know if anyone wants to read what I'm going to write?" Great question! Here are my first three thoughts about that: 1) You…
Change the World… Friday Flick: Virtual Choir 3 Jun 2011 We're so glad Eric Whitacre did not make it as a pop star. Here's a TED talk on his composing and creating influences: Mozart and a fan on YouTube. It's…
Books… Rhyme Time 2 Jun 20112 Jun 2011 Children's book editors conventionally whine about rhyme. It's so hard to write tight in rhythm and rhyme, they'd rather not brave it. Then they have children of their own, and…
Blogging… Blessings of Daily Blogging 22 Apr 2011 Having posted daily almost a third of a year (six times a week with only two misses), I'm amazed that I'm still getting it done, and that it's been so easy. Here…
Blogging… “Show Me Difficult” 20 Apr 201122 Apr 2011 Werner Erhard often talks about things that exist only in language: "Show me Difficult. Whales do not find anything Difficult." And he also says something like, "I don't have 'too…
Caring… My Secret Recipe 19 Apr 201114 Oct 2020 Yesterday, I was spinning with so many demands, I had to remind myself to stop and write my Morning Pages. (Thank you, Julia Cameron.) I've learned to think on paper…
Children… Square Inch Journaling 16 Apr 201116 Apr 2011 One of my favorite baby gifts was an undated one-year calendar with stickers for baby milestones: first bath, first tooth, first word. When my second baby arrived, I realized that…
Change the World… In Case of Rejection 13 Apr 2011 As poet Wesley McNair braved rejections, his mentor Donald Hall comforted him with these observations: "These feelings simply do not end! Believe me I am sympathetic with your feelings, but…
Collaboration… Composing Language 11 Apr 20119 Apr 2011 Every time I see my composer son, he raves about and demonstrates some new tool in his repertoire: something about counterpoint, some chord he picked up from another composer, some…
Blogging… The Sport of Writing 9 Apr 2011 Some sports are played against the clock. Their time-centered rules vary greatly, but they include judicious use of the time available. Basketball rushes through its quarters with shot clocks to…
Brain… Well Manicured Writing 5 Apr 2011 What is it about a torn fingernail that demands to be torn, bitten, or sanded smooth? Why can't a loose tooth or burned palate be ignored? We seem…