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Archive for the Writing category

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The road to Taos

Friday, August 5th, 2011

“I was trying to write then and I found the greatest difficulty, aside from knowing truly what you really felt, rather than what you were supposed to feel, and had been taught to feel, was to put down what really happened in action; what were the actual things which produced the emotion that you experienced.” [...]

Posted in Uncategorized, Writing | 3 Comments »

Summer of USA Day 3: Writing Retreat

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

I’m in Taos, New Mexico on a writing retreat at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House led by Jen Louden. D. H. Lawrence wrote here. Georgia O’Keefe painted here. Ansel Adams took photographs here. I’m sensing a pattern. Let’s see if I can find my place in that pattern.

Posted in Uncategorized, Writing | 5 Comments »

Because a book deal with Penguin NZ is worth celebrating…

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

I don’t know about you but sometimes I get so focused on the next step, the next thing I need to get done, that I totally forget to sit down, take a deep breath and really savor the wonder of what I have right in front of me. And this happens EVEN when what’s right [...]

Posted in Writing | 27 Comments »

Three Cups of Humble Pie

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

In my country we get well-schooled in the dangers of getting ‘too big for our own boots’. We call it the ‘tall-poppy syndrome’: the risk that any flower who stands above the rest will be lopped off. I suspect some people will see this week’s controversy about Greg Mortenson’s writing and work as an example [...]

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Posted in Afghanistan, Development, Writing | 44 Comments »

Book update: In which I have lunch with my agent in New York.

Friday, September 24th, 2010

After a lifetime of anticipation, I go to New York to meet my literary agent. She gives me feedback. I cry. I am mortified. And then I remember what my book is all about.

Posted in Writing | 35 Comments »

Live the life you haven’t imagined

Saturday, July 24th, 2010

The wonderful Helen Heath published an interview this week with New Zealand’s best loved literary couple, Elizabeth Knox and Fergus Barrowman. Of course, Elizabeth, the author, is loved with less conditions than than Fergus, the publisher. That appears to be the fate of publishers. I highly recommend that you go over and read the entire [...]

Posted in Buddhism, Letting go, Writing | 3 Comments »

Advice for writers: on finding agents, community and social media

Friday, July 9th, 2010

I met Alexis Grant on Twitter, because she was interviewing one of my favorite memoirists, the fabulous Dani Shapiro. As I got to know Alexis better I discovered that she is one of those people who creates community. She has built a community for people writing travel memoir, and she is incredibly generous with her [...]

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Posted in Uncategorized, Writing | 10 Comments »

Getting out of our own way: Dave Dobbyn on writing

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

Dave Dobbyn on song-writing: “Don’t get in the way of the music. When you don’t get in the way the song will go and connect to the audience. Let it go.”

Posted in Story-telling, Writing | 11 Comments »

How I got my agent

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Lots of writers hope to find the right agent for their book. This is how I got my agent. I hope you find it helpful.

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Posted in Featured Articles, Writing | 18 Comments »

How to write without writing

Monday, February 15th, 2010

This is a picture of me writing Well. Not exactly. In this picture I'm smiling at the photographer, my friend Christine. Moments before the photo was taken we were walking and talking together, which means I probably wasn't writing. But most of the time when I walk on this beach, near my home, I'm really [...]

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Posted in Writing | 6 Comments »

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