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Keep the Pen Moving
If you could see my desk, you would think that I’m a shopaholic. Well, you might be right, given the three dozen or so pens in the holder. All the same kind, albeit with different colors of ink. These are what Natalie Goldberg calls “fast pens.” They are Pentel Energels, and they fit my hand…
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Architecture Matters
You’ll notice on the back cover of Accidental Child that the story takes place, in large part, in a futuristic setting called Durlan Mall. Mall? Really, in the far future? People ask me where I got the idea for this and I remember distinctly where. I was sitting in the food court in the Maine…
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“Ink Blot”
One of the many writing groups I attend is a bunch of free-writing fools, as we often call ourselves, though I don’t know that we have ever formally accepted that label. A lot of what we do is happy or not-so happy foolishness, freedom to let the words splatter onto the page and know that…
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Failure Is a Must
I spent a precious hour yesterday leafing through lousy drafts–words, sentences and paragraphs that strained and grimaced, that were missing vital organs–the sounds, images, energy and depth of good writing. I was looking for something good to offer the world, as Lewis Hyde says, to move the gift along. It was one of those times…
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Family History Through Poetry
Lately, I am reminded of a line I wrote some time ago: “It’s my job to remember things I never saw.” I’ve always been fascinated with the sketchy history of my mother’s grandfather, George Hamilton. Family stories portray him as a drinker, an Irish immigrant who became an American citizen, a mill worker, rabidly…
Karen Douglass, Author 