An Open Letter to President-Elect Obama
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 Posted in Around the Web, Family, Greatest Hits | 10 Comments »Dear President-Elect Obama: It is with some difficulty that I type this, as I am a dog and not really a Mac person. I’ll try to be brief. My name is Daisy. You probably receive thousands of letters each week from dignitaries, ...
Ten Best Christmas Movies
Saturday, November 29th, 2008 Posted in Greatest Hits, Jigsaw Jones | 1 Comment »As the author of the Jigsaw Jones series, I've been told by more than one editor that I am "so Jigsaw." And I suppose that's reasonably true. But I also identify with Jigsaw's father. He is, like me, a list-maker. ...
That First Sentence: Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Monday, November 17th, 2008 Posted in Greatest Hits, Readings, the writing process | 7 Comments »A while back, I had the genius idea of posting about Great Opening Sentences. It struck me as a neat platform from which discuss writing in general. You can find that entry here and, as a brief follow-up, here. A couple ...
A Craig Walker Story, or Two
Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 Posted in Greatest Hits, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »My friend, Caroline, noticed her young son fidgeting around in that nervous leaky way all parents recognize. "Elliott, do you need to use the bathroom?" "Yes, Mom, I do," Elliott chirped. "And it's your lucky day -- because I have to poop!" Which ...
Character Is . . .
Monday, November 10th, 2008 Posted in Bystander, Greatest Hits, Readings, the writing process | No Comments »Often we read about painters or novelists who listened to a certain kind of music while they worked on a given project. It helps get them in the right frame of mind. For example, I understand that Matthew Cordell listened ...
Bernard Waber: An Appreciation
Monday, October 27th, 2008 Posted in Greatest Hits, Interviews & Appreciations | 5 Comments »"When I am writing, I think of myself as a writer. But when I am illustrating, I think of myself as an illustrator. I think, though, that I try to create situations with my writing that will be fun to ...
Do You Need a Dinette Set?
Friday, October 24th, 2008 Posted in Fun Clips, Greatest Hits | 4 Comments »As a service to my readers who might be shopping for dinette sets, I submit this: [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ3oHpup-pk] Yes, that's a real commercial. Have a great weekend.
Jigsaw Jones: What’s In a Book Cover?
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 Posted in Greatest Hits, Jigsaw Jones, the writing process | 1 Comment »One of the central themes of this blog is that whatever touches my life as a writer is valid content. Or as my pal Matthew Cordell might say, "blog fodder." So, thus: I recently got this note from my ...
Elmore Leonard’s Rules for Writing
Monday, October 13th, 2008 Posted in Greatest Hits, Readings, the writing process | No Comments »As part of a series called "Writers on Writing," published in The New York Times, Elmore Leonard penned a thought-provoking article that first saw print on July 16, 2001. Every once in a while I remember that it exists and ...
Writing Process: Six Innings
Thursday, September 18th, 2008 Posted in Greatest Hits, Six Innings, the writing process | 1 Comment »I've never had a particularly good memory. Most of the details are lost, but essences remain. As a writer, those essential feelings are what feed my books. However, when it comes to baseball, I do have startlingly vivid recollections. Here's one ...