To prepare for an upcoming writing retreat in France led by my friend Summer Hardinge, I decided to read Alain de Botton’s The Art of Travel. I had heard it was wonderful, but I didn’t expect such an erudite, subtle, witty, and philosophically wide-ranging treatment of the topic. Nor did I expect to delve deeply into a traveler’s way of seeing, which really is the same as a writer’s way of seeing. For example, here's what de Botton says about curiosity: Curiosity might be pic

It’s always tough to write about family. Well, not the writing part—the publishing part. Feelings can get hurt. Relationships can get damaged. Is it worth it? This was the dilemma I wrestled with recently when Rev. Russell Heiland, senior minister at Unity of Fairfax, invited me to be a guest on his blog. The webmaster who extended the invitation suggested I write in response to this question: “What would you say to someone who asked if you have been saved?” This is language

Every now and then I find a writing prompt that is so much fun it requires wider sharing. Mood Ring, from Writing from the Senses: 59 Exercises to Ignite Your Creativity and Revitalize Your Writing by Laura Deutsch, is just such a prompt. In this exercise you will use similes to create a poem based on an emotion. This is the template for your poem: Mood Ring Poem Pick an emotion—joy, anger, frustration, sadness, etc.—and complete your own poem. When I feel [name emotion] ____

The first thing I want to say about Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear is “buy it.” Her advice is honest, authentic, encouraging, insightful, witty, and resourced, for she draws on the wisdom of not only her experience but those of writer friends such as Brené Brown and Ann Patchett, as well as Albert Einstein, Tom Waits, and Werner Herzog, among many others. After reading this book I felt understood, encouraged, inspired, and ready to pursue my writin

Like most writers, I am a bibliophile. I don’t say this lightly: every room in my house, including bathrooms, has books piled and waiting. I even wrote an article about my “book habit” years ago for the Washington Post! I am currently visiting family in Maine (fortuitous timing, as Winter Storm Jonas bears down on my home turf), and yesterday I decided to go to the local Barnes & Noble to pick up Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest book on creativity, Big Magic. And because my husband