“John Laroche is a tall guy, skinny as a stick, pale-eyed, slouch-shouldered, and sharply handsome, in spite of the fact that he is missing all his front teeth.”- Susan Orlean, The Orchid Thief “The Santa Anas blew in hot from the desert, shriveling the last of the spring grass into whiskers of pale straw. Only … Continue reading
“There are two states in which you may exist, person who writes, or person who does not. If you write: you are a writer. If you do not write: you are not. Aspiring is a meaningless null state that romanticizes Not Writing. It’s as ludicrous as saying, ‘I aspire to pick up that piece of paper … Continue reading
William Zinsser once said, “The most important sentence in any article is the first one.” Though they’re the most vital part of a piece, hooks are often the most difficult to construct. Sometimes the task of constructing a proper lead is so tough, I just dive right into the material. That or begin with a stock template out of … Continue reading
According to Barbara Baig, author of How to Be a Writer, writing depends on one thing: observation. As Marcel Proust once said, “The voyage of discovery is not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes.” Most of us go about our lives in a sort of stupor, only half aware of the physical … Continue reading
Reading Roy Peter Clark’s brilliantly practical Writing Tools and stumbled upon a writing strategy I adore: Writing Tool #23: “Place gold coins along the path: Reward the reader with high points, especially in the middle.” The question that torments every writer: how do we compel our readers to keep reading? Famed editor of the Wall Street … Continue reading
The Blank-Faced Confidante 