Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Monday, November 29, 2021
Sunday, November 28, 2021
Saturday, November 27, 2021
Profile Photo
My profile photo on this blog -- and on Twitter -- is a very old photo I've always liked. It was taken in Seattle, in 1996, one early morning when friends were visiting me from different states. We were all still in our pj's. I wanted to get up and make pancakes for everyone, but my friend's five-year-old son was sitting in my lap and didn't want to get up.
Friday, November 26, 2021
Gratitude Girl
Those who have read Languages & Life Lessons will find some parts of this letter, written by Gratitude Girl, familiar:
https://gratigi.blogspot.com/2021/04/afsaneh-shiftehfar.html
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
E.B. White
"The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear."
E.B. White
Monday, November 22, 2021
Sunday, November 21, 2021
The 45-Year-Old Letter
In the chapter "Bilingual," I mention a letter that has "miraculously survived over four decades"... This is that letter I wrote to my dad, timestamped December 1976, back when international mail cost 22 cents... and I was six:
Saturday, November 20, 2021
Reliving Moments
When I write about my life and recall the events of a period of my life, I relive those past moments so strongly and vividly that when I stop writing for the day, I feel I crave the things I enjoyed at that time of my life. I find myself searching for the songs I listened to and television shows I loved to watch.
Friday, November 19, 2021
From England...
I love it when people send me photos of my book in their home.
It makes me smile, and I feel honored.
Thursday, November 18, 2021
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Jane Yolen
“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.”
Jane Yolen
Monday, November 15, 2021
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Firoozeh Dumas
One of the books that have inspired me is Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas. I read Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America about a decade ago and loved it. In it, the author describes her move from Iran to the United States when she was just a little girl. Her book is a collection of anecdotes about her own experiences as well as those of her parents, which she observed and skillfully put on the printed page.
Saturday, November 13, 2021
Friday, November 12, 2021
Thursday, November 11, 2021
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Sylvia Plath
“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you
have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise.
The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
Sylvia Plath
