I recently read The Writer’s Mentor, by Cathleen Rountree, which has already become a favorite resource for me, one of those books on writing I’ll keep on my shelf and go back to again and again.

The Writer’s Mentor isn’t a book full of how-to tips and writing exercises. It’s more about the writing life, and how to keep your creative self nourished. I found it vaguely reminiscent of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, but more specific to writers, and without structured exercises like morning pages and artist dates. Aspiring writers are instead encouraged to find their own best patterns of writing and creative renewal.
(more…)

Return To Me with Minnie Driver, David Duchovny and Bonnie Hunt, is a tale of what happens when a heart transplant recipient accidentally meets her donor’s husband. I wasn’t sure if I’d like this movie, but it’s sensitive, intelligent and romantic. No ghosts or spooks involved. You may need a box of tissues. It’s light on humor, heavy on the better side of human nature, and has a distinct healing affect on the viewer. Bonnie Hunt directed and wrote the screenplay with Don Lake. It’s from a few years ago—2000, released on DVD in 2001.

Postscript May 23: I watched this DVD again last night, and it was even better the second time around. The humor stood out for me more and I enjoyed that a lot. Perhaps on the first viewing I was caught up in the emotion of the theme. James Belushi and the late Carroll O’Connor, also in the cast, were hilarious.

Postscript July 28, 2007 This post has been edited from its original form because the news story it linked to moved or became unavailable at the URL I posted. Some of the comments refer to that news article, which mentioned that some people in India who saw another movie (not Return to Me) grew suspicious of transplants for religious or superstitious reasons.

Vikk Simmons at Down the Writer’s Path asks Why write every day?

I read yesterday in The Writer’s Mentor that Mark Twain began writing the story of Joan of Arc six times over the course of twelve years. He said, “There are some books that refuse to be written . . . only because the right form for the story does not present itself.” Of course, he didn’t let that not-ready-to-be-written story stop him. According to the site linked under his name, Twain published nine works including Life on the Mississippi, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer Abroad, and Pudd’nhead Wilson during the twelve-year period prior to Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc.

Regarding the need to write every day, the only question a writer in that situation ought to ask is: Do I want to write? If the answer is yes, even though what you think you want to write may be stuck for now, that doesn’t mean you should stop writing. (more…)

In spite of occasionally dreaming of winning the lottery, I confess I seldom bother to buy tickets. But I’ve noticed those lottery numbers inside fortune cookies, and I’ve wondered if they’re worth a try. According to this report, Fortune cookies lucky for 110 lottery winners, they are. Well, sometimes.

To all moms—biological moms, adopted moms, stepmoms, foster moms, moms to be, moms who never were, aunties, moms of pets, caretakers of anyone’s children, grandmothers (of course!), and those who simply care a great deal about the children in your community or the world. Thank you for cherishing and nurturing the future along with those individuals you love and care for each day.

I hope I didn’t leave anyone out.

I write on my laptop, in a barricaded corner of the living room near the kitchen—eight feet from the coffee grinder and coffee maker—surrounded by instruments of creation, including my L-shaped desk that used to work in a bank. The remaining wires from the silent alarm were removed just prior to positioning the desk in my living room. (more…)

Dust bunnies, that is. It must be spring. All that rain has sprouted every seed in existence, and they’re all weeds, and they’re all in my yard. The inside of the house doesn’t look a whole lot better. They call them dust bunnies because they reproduce at an alarming rate. I’ve started learning feng shui, to motivate myself to do housework. There has to be some creative narcotic fix to this, or some kind of puzzle or magic to hold my interest, or it ain’t gettin’ done. I find the prospect of writing an entire novel less daunting than cleaning house. I’d rather read a rejection letter than clean house. (more…)

I found a link on Bill Crider’s Blog to a wordofmouthwriters.org letter to Oprah Winfrey (link no longer active on 03-07-2008), asking that she focus once again on books by contemporary authors in her book club. The request is made by Word of Mouth, An Association of Women Authors. (more…)

Here’s to the prettiest mother in the universe.

Photo credit: earthobservatory.nasa.gov

2020 Hindsight posted this lead to a New Yorker piece by Chandler Burr, author of The Emperor of Scent: A Story of Perfume, Obsession, and the Last Mystery of the Senses, a book that might break my heart if I read it.
(more…)