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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
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The Writing Room

I’m a writer who loves to talk about writing, so if you’re a writer or an aspiring writer I hope you'll stop by now and then and keep me company . . . You’ll find writing tips here as well as my thoughts on the writing life. Watch out, though. The Grammar Geek will be putting in her two cents from time to time.

The Trouble With Daffodils — and My Writing

April 11, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 9 Comments

Solo yellow and white daffodil. Photo by BF Newhall

The trouble with daffodils is they have no subtext. They are all cheer and sparkle and optimism. They are avatars of perky. They get on my nerves. Read more.

The Writing Room: My Idea of a Good Time — A Week in the Mountains with a Bunch of Other Writers

February 19, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

I’ve attended the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley summer conference three different times and loved every moment. It’s a great chance to meet writers, editors, agents — and work on your writing.

San Francisco’s George Leonard and the Tao of Writing

February 6, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

George Leonard, San Francisco Bay Area author and counterculture guru. LOOK magazine writer. YouTube photo.

George Leonard, one of the founders of the human potential movement, and I both worked at Look magazine during the 1960s. We knew each other — that is to say, I knew who he was. Read more.

The Writing Room: Carol Edgarian’s Letter to a Young Writer

January 18, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

Whether you’re a brand-new writer or writer of many years, be sure to check out Carol Edgarian’s letter to a young college graduate who wants to write but doesn’t know where to start.

The Writing Room: Different From, Different Than – Which Is It?

January 16, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

[caption id="attachment_7493" align="aligncenter" width="500"]books on shelf by john gardener, sands hall, strunk and white, noah lukeman, robert mckee, theodore m bernstein, stephen koch, susan shaughnessy. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall Some of my favorite books on the craft of writing. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall[/caption]

I was at the gym working on my pecs and abdominals the other day when I spotted a flyer announcing, “Belly fat is different than other fat.” Shouldn’t that be different from? What’s correct? I hadn’t a clue. Read more.

Feng Shui Tip for the Writing Room and the Bedroom — Your Mother’s Not Allowed, and Neither Are the Kids

December 18, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 1 Comment

There are no photos in my my writing room. No kids, no parents, no family. Pictures of my parents have the worst effect on me when I’m trying to write. “When are you going to get a real job, Barb?” they shout from their frames as I enter the workroom. Peering over my shoulder, they pass judgment on me and my thoughts, “You’re writing about that? Shame on you.”

The Writing Room: Journalists in Jail Around the World — More and More Are Freelancers

December 8, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that freelancers now make up nearly 45 percent journalists jailed around the world, an increase that probably reflects changes in global news reporting.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Help! My Kids Aren’t Perfect After All

Little girl with broken arm & chicken pox marks. Photo by BF Newhall

The kids were still pre-schoolers at the time, and it had been another night of sleep deprivation for me. “Tell me it gets easier,” I said to my friend Nancy. “Well, actually it gets harder,” she replied. Nancy has a daughter three years older than Peter. She keeps me briefed on the parenting realities ahead. Read more.

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TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

A glamorous red-head close up

Grace Falconer Perlmutter Kleis — How to Be a Glamorous Gal at Age 98

Copy of a painting of Madonna and Child by Benozzo Gozzoli, 1420-1497. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall

Visions of the Baby Jesus Light Up Centuries of Art

Front page of the Detroit News, 1913, with headline describing harsh shipwreck weather on Great Lakes.

Nature. We Love It — But Does It Give a Darn About Us?

The back of a hiker's boots, on the trail. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Tending a Friendship — I’m on Her Calendar and She’s on Mine

MORE DON'T MISS!

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