It’s writing group week. At this time of the year, we’re at Pam Houston’s ranch in Creede, Colorado. There are nine of us here, two who couldn’t make it. Saturday night we arrived to a dinner of salmon, fresh corn on the cob and green beans,...
The more I think about Pam Houston’s writing advice (via Henry James), that a writer ought to strive to be “someone on whom nothing is lost,” the more I want to be aware of what is going on around me. A couple of weeks ago, in the interest of...
Annie Dillard wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” On the first of each month, beginning today, Catching Days will host a guest writer. To inaugurate this monthly series, “How We Spend Our Days,” please welcome...
In the car yesterday, I was listening to the CD that came with The Writer’s Notebook. On it are two recordings. One was a discussion on character. On the panel were Ron Carlson, Dorothy Allison, and Dennis Johnson. There was no introduction; it just started....
It’s writing group week at Point Reyes, California–nine of us here (several in absentia) with Pam Houston. We arrived Thursday night at the Old Point Reyes Schoolhouse Compound for a dinner of fish stew. We come from all over the country–from...
A second works fine for me as a second. A minute works as a minute. After all, they’re so short, what should we expect. And a day works as a day. Long enough. At the end of one, I’m ready for it to be winding down. But an hour, that’s where it...
