by
brian
on
Nov 17, 2011 • “I have an idea but I’m not sure I believe it. Maybe I wanted to learn how to think. Writing is a concentrated form of thinking. I don’t know what I think about certain subjects, even today, until I sit down and try to write about them. Maybe I wanted to find more rigorous ways...
by
brian
on
Nov 12, 2011 • Balance is everything. Especially in guaranteeing that your life is not messed up and out of sync. I think I’ve come to that realization lately because I see so many of my friends whose lives are out of sync. It’s not uncommon as adults to be in this mess, after all. Life has its demands...
by
brian
on
Nov 1, 2011 • November. The month that turns a writer’s heart to all kinds of disparate things. Snow (apparently), turkey, football, writing a novel in thirty days, raking leaves, etc. Yes, writing a novel in thirty days is in there, too, because it’s National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. And it’s pretty wild. The point here is simple:...
by
brian
on
Oct 29, 2011 • A few light taps upon the pane made him turn to the window. It had begun to snow again. He watched sleepily the flakes, silver and dark, falling obliquely against the lamplight. The time had come for him to set out on his journey westward. Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was general all over...
by
brian
on
Oct 22, 2011 • Writing, as in life, is about being flexible. Whether you’re talking about love, work, or writing, the ability to recognize differences between us and to not only accept them but to embrace and celebrate them are keys to a long, healthy life. This is not earth-shatteringly new wisdom by any stretch, but for some of...
by
brian
on
Oct 10, 2011 • I don’t normally come right out and write posts to people. Bad form. Huge potential for unwanted anger directed at me (been there, can you tell?). But this post is different. It is to someone. I could try to whitewash it as a reflection on life and commitment to writing, I could add the tag...
by
brian
on
Sep 23, 2011 • The rules have changed. All of them. There are times in your life when things just get turned upside down, inside out, and head over heels. This, for me, is one of them. No bloody details (I’ve learned that lesson well- sorry, no personal info divulged here), but suffice it to say that my cheese...
by
brian
on
Sep 18, 2011 • Nostalgia trips are fun to take. The fall really inspires this, it seems. Back to school, as teachers will tell you, is often no different now for adults as it is for our charges: stomach churning, exciting (sometimes), and nerve wracking. Maybe it’s because my 25th high school reunion is rapidly approaching. Perhaps it’s because...
by
brian
on
Sep 15, 2011 • Some people need space. Correction: most people need space. Space from each other, space from reality, space from crowds or mobs, space from the constrictions that hold them back; these are all reasons why people need space. Some people need space to breathe the air of freedom and to live unhindered by the fetters of...
by
brian
on
Aug 24, 2011 • TED constantly fascinates me. This is no exception. Turkish novelist Elif Shafak discusses the relationship between identity politics and fiction in this really amazing talk that all teachers of “creative writing” should hear. The notion, as Shafak puts it, that modern life, technology, and globalization have allowed us all to gravitate into cultural ghettos, places...
by
brian
on
Jun 30, 2011 • This video is very cool. It not only teaches the viewer a bit about music (certainly things I didn’t know, being tone deaf as I am), but also hits on one of the key, incontrovertible facts about the arts: sampling, as it were, happens. Whether it be art, music, writing, or dance, certain moves are...
by
brian
on
Jun 7, 2011 • Welcome to summer. The school year is winding down, the rain has let up, and we are actually experiencing some heat. It’s all good. I need to take a moment during these crazy weeks that make up the end of another school year (my sixteenth as a teacher of adolescents), and try to let some...
