I was not always sitting in this lovely home on Thursdays reading others’ writing, Before that I was in the El Dorado National forest folding origami cranes and watching a Western Tanager in the madrones. Before that I was at Tassajara naked under the stars, and sitting in quiet meditation, and going to forbidden places in my writing. Before that I was making sandcastles at the beach with grandchildren and reading sweet stories to sleepy…

I was having the typical difficult conversation on the phone with my son, a senior at Reed College, me with questions, him with one-word responses: “So,” I asked, “What else is new?” “Ummm. Oh yeah, there is one thing.” “Oh?” “Mmhm. I emailed my professors, asking to be excused from my classes. I told them I had an opportunity downtown that could benefit my future.” “Oh really?” Wow, I thought, he’s got a job interview;…

My wife and I had finally settled into a financially and physically secure retirement. Two years ago, we bought our forever home, unpacked boxes that had been in storage, and eased into the next chapter of life; for me, this included writing, painting, crafting, and grandchildren. This week we’re packing boxes and putting our house on the market. We’re putting out a big chunk of money to reserve a new home being built in our…

The soundtrack of my girlhood summers was polka music. On a vacant lot next to the Cowboy Miniature Golf course in Estes Park, Colorado, we dug ten holes in the ground and installed trampolines. All day and into the night, we played polka music over a loudspeaker—no rock music for us; it was the lively rhythms of an accordion that we blasted. It was the 60s. Although the country was in social turmoil, I innocently…

On impulse, I signed up for a watercolor class at my local community center one day. I spotted it on a flyer, and what jumped into my head was—art supplies! I love to buy art supplies (even though I’m not an artist). I decided to take the beginner’s watercolor class mainly because I liked the supply list: two #6 round brushes; a palette with at least ten wells; the following Cotman watercolors—French Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt…

Of course you know that you are not the first person on the planet to pursue writing, but have you thought about learning some of the habits of successful writers who came before you? Myriam Gurba, the author of the memoir Mean, became interested in writing as a vocation when she was a teen. In an interview with The Writer magazine, she described researching the lives of respected authors: “I researched specifically what their process…