Barbara Abercrombie's Blog, page 3
October 1, 2013
Upcoming Classes and Workshops
It's fall. Back to school time. I'll be teaching a three hour writing workshop at Book Passage next Saturday in Corte Madera, California - one of the all time great bookstores. If you live in or around San Francisco and...
September 22, 2013
Good Advice for Writers
Phyllis Theroux, my favorite pen pal, sent me this wonderful quote from The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer last week. It rings especially true for writers: "'You must do everything that frightens you, JR. Everything. I'm not talking about risking...
September 19, 2013
Life Gets in the Way
Life has gotten in the way of this blog and my writing. A family illness, and then - astonishingly and horribly - two violent deaths this week of people I know. One, the suicide of a much beloved and respected...
August 23, 2013
About Blogs
A dear friend and student emailed me last night about feeling burned out - she just had a baby, just moved into a new house, has a consuming profession, has had a past history of scary medical surprises, etc. And...
August 16, 2013
Island Time
I've been on an island off the coast of Maine for the past week (for the wedding of my beautiful niece above), blissfully unaware that I could get online at the house we've rented. My ten year old grandson got...
August 1, 2013
Good News and Bad
This is such an inspiring story from the New York Times, and at the same time you read it and weep. But there are still small independent publishers out there so maybe it's time to finally send your manuscript out....
July 30, 2013
Read in Alaska
I just got back from a trip to Alaska on an Un-Cruise boat trip (that's the name of the company - Un-Cruise, only 68 passengers, 10 of whom were family members). Alaska was beautiful, cold, and astonishing. When you get...
July 21, 2013
Your Writer's Wristband
You know how you get your writer's wristband? It's easy. You write every day. It doesn't have to be a whole chapter or poem or complete essay, sometimes it's just a few sentences. But sitting there in front of your...
July 19, 2013
On Fire
Sometimes ideas just smoke, and sometimes they burst into flame. Either way you have to pay attention to them. I've had an idea smoking for the past year and recently I caught fire with it. I sent the title to...
July 12, 2013
Beautiful Ruins
This is such a delicious book. I'm 2/3's through it and rationing it, reading other less wonderful books at the same time, so I don't gobble it up all at once. Jess Walter has written a wonderful read with real...
