Behind the scenes in House Key
Turning Pages: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Publisher by John Sargent My rating: 5 of 5 stars I enjoyed reading about John Sargent’s life and career. His anecdotes were engaging—and disarming when self-effacing—as he blundered through early situations, but … Continued
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is not just another book about writing. The author, Natalie Goldberg, shares brilliant insights designed to help the reader approach their work … Continued
Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past by William Zinsser My rating: 5 of 5 stars What I thought would be an instruction manual on how to write memoirs turned out to be a moving memoir about the … Continued
What We See When We Read by Peter Mendelsund My rating: 4 of 5 stars The cover caught my eye first while I was browsing in the bookstore. Not surprisingly, I later learned that the author, Peter Mendelsund, is an … Continued
A former boss and mentor once said that my desire for perfection stood in the way of actually getting things done. His words stung. The truth didn’t hurt as much as the fact that it came from someone I highly … Continued
Another big take-away from Hemingway on Writing, edited by Larry W. Phillips — along with making characters real — is knowing Country. Living and writing in Africa and Spain allowed Hemingway to write compelling novels in those settings. Hemingway advocates that you … Continued
I mentioned in my last post that I took Hemingway’s advice on creating real characters and the places they inhabit a step further. I started a painting of my children years ago. Their teenage years were fraught with a lot … Continued
I’ve been reading some excellent books on the craft of writing. All contain good advice, memorable insights and quotes that I mark with sticky tabs. One in particular that resonated from Ernest Hemingway on Writing, edited by Larry W. Phillips, … Continued
