Ten reasons why I’m finding it impossible to write about my 92-year-old mother, even though she’s all I can think about right now . . . .
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.
Why I Can’t Write My Memoir — Not the Part About My Mom Anyway
Driving home the other day from just one of countless visits to my mom at the hospital, I had to ask myself , why aren’t I writing about her? Read more.
The Trouble With Daffodils — and My Writing
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
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
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
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?
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.


