Jane Roper's Blog, page 14

Help me write, Sol LeWitt

I just got back from an incredibly productive week out in Western Massachusetts at Wellspring House, working on the first (well, first and a half) major revision of my novel. I like rewriting and revising infinitely more than first-drafting, which I find akin to squeezing blood from a stone. I mean, in the first draft you […]

Talk Less. Smile More.

It’s what Aaron Burr says to Alexander Hamilton when they first meet in the musical Hamilton, which we are currently somewhat obsessed with in the Roper-Moock household. When Burr’s character says it, it’s meant to illustrate the contrast between him Hamilton—Burr’s M.O. is “don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for,” while Hamilton’s is […]

Put ’em in a pickle jar

I remember people, mostly older women, I think, saying that when I was a kid: “I wish I could put you in a pickle jar!” I always pictured one of those pickled people jars (Exhibit A), which I guess were big around the time people said it, that being the mid 80s. That seemed like a […]

Writing is fun. Sort of.

“Dear mom. I hope you had a great time in Virginia. Did you do anything exciting? Or did you just write?” Thus began an email I received this week while away at VCCA, a writers’ and artists’ colony in Virginia. And from a phone conversation with the girls: “How come you get to go fun places and... Read the Rest »

Middle-Aged Kids

The girls just turned nine, which in child years, if you think about it, is middle aged: Halfway to eighteen. (Eighteen being a somewhat arbitrary number except that it’s when the girls will head to college or elsewhere most likely.) The parallels with adult middle age pretty much end there, because as far as I can... Read the Rest »

Life Moves Pretty Fast: 5 Ways to Ditch Your Phone Addiction

  “Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Thus began my address as valedictorian of my high school class — along with, probably, the valedictory addresses of hundreds, if not thousands, of teenagers around the nation in the late 80s and early 90s. (What do you... Read the Rest »

What, Me Worry?

A couple of weeks ago, Clio had a cold. And it was awesome. I was away at a brief writing retreat at one of my all-time favorite getaways, and Alastair texted to say that Clio had some sort of rash — the itchy kind that seemed to move around a bit. So, in other words, hives.... Read the Rest »

10 Good Reasons to Play Hooky

For the second year in a row, we forced our daughters into truancy for the first week of school. Well, actually, we didn’t have to do much forcing. They willingly agreed to it. The thing is, every year since Alastair was four years old, he and his family have spent the week before Labor Day... Read the Rest »

Family Bear Night and Other 8-Year-Old Delights

I love having 8-year-olds. I mean, yes, the number itself sort of makes me cringe, because MY BABIES! Where have my babies gone?!! They’re about to move from the k-2 grouping, which still has a toe in little-kid-dom, to the 3-5 realm, which is solidly big-kid territory — and the last gasp of childhood before (gulp) adolescence. But... Read the Rest »

So, my kid had cancer recently, and…

One of the odd things about life post-cancer-treatment, I’m finding, is navigating when and when not to reveal what our family just went through to people I don’t know well. I mean, it was always a little tricky to know how or if to drop the C-bomb. But when Clio was in treatment it was such a big... Read the Rest »