You might be thinking that writing is the hardest part of writing a book, and while certainly not easy, writing is actually the best part. What’s hard, and what I’m trying to change my attitude about, is the marketing of a book. I used to call myself the Marketing Whore when I publicized a book…
teaching writing
Fooling Around or: what I did today.
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 6 Comments
I realized today (and this is not exactly a new thought but it comes around every so often and for some reason always surprises me): writers need periods of just fooling around. Of accomplishing nothing solid, no whole chapters, no rewrites, or outlines or whatever it is we hold our noses to the grindstone…
teaching writing
Nina, Nelson and Tomatoes
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 2 Comments
It feels like a thousand years since I last posted on this blog and not just because of how long it’s been (since last August). It’s a whole new world. I hope you’re all safe and well, and staying home as much as possible. The big news from here is that my composter arrived last…
teaching writing
An Honest Post
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 4 Comments
It just occurred to me that the photograph (above) posted on FaceBook recently was one of the most honest social media posts I’ve ever done. It’s a photo of my house guest Victoria under my sink with my friend Trent dealing with my garbage disposal – which threatened to flood the kitchen. An…
teaching writing
Wisdom & Inspiration Via Netflix
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 12 Comments
I’ve given up on the news – it makes me anxious, insane, and profoundly depressed. So I’ve turned to Netflix documentaries instead of CNN. And it’s paying off. Life lessons, inspiration, wisdom et al. The first documentary I watched this week was Beyoncé’s 2018 Coachella show, “Homecoming”. Let’s face it, Beyoncé’s a force of nature –…
teaching writing
Mary Oliver as Rock Star
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 9 Comments
Nine years ago Mary Oliver gave a reading at UCLA. I bought two tickets and took R. He hadn’t cared that much for poetry until I read him Oliver’s “The Summer Day”, and the famous last lines, Tell me, what is it you is it you plan to do/ With your one wild and…
teaching writing
The WTF Draft of Your Memoir
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 5 Comments
This is the first draft of your memoir and for the first time you’re writing down what really happened – who said what and who actually did what, who left whom and what came out of nowhere and what secrets were revealed and how could they? It’s the WTF draft and you’re shocked and bereft…
teaching writing
Finding Time 101
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 15 Comments
Happy New Year dear writers/readers – Over the holidays various people at parties have said to me, “I really want to write but -” then they shrug. “It’s so hard to find the time,” they say. So, here’s Getting Started 101: You will never find the time. There will always be something much more…
teaching writing, Writing a Blog
Getting Unstuck
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 6 Comments
I have blog block. I think I’ve written every single thing I know or ever questioned or thought or didn’t know about writing. There are years and years of posts on this blog of me going on and on about writing and also about houses and my dog and the departed cats and God knows…
Inspiration, Teaching Writing
Rewriting: from rant to write
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 4 Comments
This morning I was talking to a friend/student who said he just had an epiphany about rewriting. For years in class he’d been writing rants, spilling on paper the things he felt deeply about – relationships, his work, politics – and he’d get good feedback in workshop, everyone was interested, but his pieces needed…
