Marion Dane Bauer's Blog, page 6
August 20, 2019
Creative Energy
It’s a topic I come back to many times, because it represents a core truth for me. I can write only what feeds me, what gives me energy. I watched many eager writers through a strenuous, two-year MFA program, and I was reminded again and again that one of the most important doors our students […]
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August 13, 2019
Pilgrimages
All pilgrimages are internal. Gail Gutradt
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August 6, 2019
The Quiz
I have a cousin who stands firmly on the other side of the political divide from the one I occupy. Recently she sent me a quiz she had designed to demonstrate the facts about climate, facts that were drawn from reputable sources but that were clearly chosen to demonstrate that our concern about human-caused climate […]
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July 30, 2019
A Loner
Although I am a typical loner in daily life, my consciousness of belonging to the invisible community of those who strive for truth, beauty, and justice has preserved me from feeling isolated. The most beautiful and deepest experience a person can have is the sense of the mysterious. It is the underlying principle of religion […]
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July 23, 2019
On Being an Old Lady
I try hard not to be an old lady! By which I mean, I work at staying open to the changing world around me, making it a point to view the world with interest even in the midst of amazement. I take care to refrain from criticizing change just because it is . . . […]
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July 16, 2019
Another Lesson
Another lesson I’ve learned along the way is that there are no truly original ideas. There are no truly original plots. As the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes said three thousand or so years ago: “There is no new thing under the sun.” Except you. Except me. Every individual is new and unique, so […]
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July 9, 2019
So Reckless and Opulent a Thing
What we seek we do not find—that would be too trim and tidy for so reckless and opulent a thing as life. It is something else we find. Susan Glaspell “So reckless and opulent thing as life”! That phrase when I read it caught my heart . . . and held it. Reckless and opulent, […]
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Every now and then…
Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen. […]
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June 25, 2019
Writing is …
Writing is incarnational. Flannery O’Connor
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June 18, 2019
Your Book’s Best Friend
The best friend your book will ever have is your editor. From the moment you have a contract in hand, that’s the most important thing to remember. Your editor is on your side. You and she want the same thing: for your book to be the best it can possibly be when it hits the […]
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