Category: Angst

Angst:

Stories that get mixed up, that feel out of place, that confuzzle the soul.

How To Write Around It

Yesterday in class, my student Mike had clearly lost faith. I didn’t know why. But I could see that he was lost. I had asked the entire class to write for a page in response to the question: “Who are you in a group?” followed by “What do you fear about working in  groups?” They…

I’m Not Writing from the Heart

I just stopped by this blog by one of my favorite tweeps, @ArtemisRetreats, and I realized I feel like a fake. That’s right, I am a big, neverending puff of hot air. My blog is supposed to be this place where I can just write from the center of me, where I can change and…

Stop Everything

Betty cat sidles up Shoves her way in Lolls under my firm pressure Kneading my gut. Telling me with toenails uncut… Stop working, stop everything– Make more… Make more love.

A Poem to Those Who Love Me

Make the day pause, A top all done now the spinning: But not yet toppled. If (for just one day) I am the morning sun, Then You are the luscious hills I peek over; The refracting air dew –In winter, air’s mirror– And that single ecstatic Songbird rambling Her grocery list. And if, At noontime,…

AROS 6

Montrous Snow peaks, huddled at Road edges, yard edges Crowd the winter in. Barely room for me to slither by In my repressed Town & Country. I remember you, snow, as Individual, unique Flakes, and I feel The same lonely.

To Be a Storyteller

The #reverb10 final prompt from Molly O’Neill asked “What is your core story?” Being a huge fan of The Moth, and Eddie Izzard, and loving to hear people rattle off stories about their hilarious trip here and there —  and being a writer naturally — I am perplexed and in awe of storytellers. I can…

#reverb10, Day 29: Tearing Down Walls

A combination of the day 29 prompt (Defining Moment: Describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year) and my decision to finally read “Eat. Pray. Love” made me realize what my defining moment of the year was. My old friend, JD, came out to visit and to work…

What it Reveals

#reverb10 prompt for 12/25: Photo – a present to yourself. Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where,…

Emotional Eating Happens

The #reverb10 prompt for today is about “soul food” which to me has always directly translated into “comfort food.” And who can speak more about the extensive need for comfort food than Colin and I? Colin and I are wrapping up YEAR 2 of ” Creme-Filled Uncertainty” with a big sidedish of “Deep Fried Instability.”…

Future Self: Don’t Be Such a Bitch

Dear Future Self, I hope you realize that not EVERYONE is as lucky as you are to be a highly successful author of four best-selling books. I hope you remember that even though you have EVERYTHING YOU DESIRE, that many other people still have barely what they need. I hope you know that achieving ONE…

Beyond Avoidance: The Other 4.8

#reverb10 Prompt: Beyond avoidance. “What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing?” I should have revised the novel I wrote instead of chickening out and just taking a teaching job. Because I got positive feedback from agents on it. Because I…

The Year of Playdates: Extrapolation of Fun!

Day 16, #reverb10, Prompt: Friendship… How has a friendship changed you this year? I don’t even WANT to talk about PLAYDATES. But this post is reminding me that so many things I thought I knew about friendship got themselves imploded in 2010 when I really had to start to understand the intricacies of PLAYDATES. Are…