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.

Walk 1000 Miles Around Lake Michigan? She Did It — Now I Don’t Have To

October 26, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Walk around Lake Michigan . . . the whole thing. I’d start in late spring and finish up in the fall. And when I was done, I’d write a book about it. Lucky for me, Loreen Niewenhuis beat me to it.

Ceramics Envy at the Berkeley Art Center — I Want to Get My Hands into that Earthy, Messy, Squishy Clay

October 2, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I’m a writer, but whenever I visit my friend Nancy Selvin’s ceramics studio, I wonder whether I’d rather be working with something more tangible than words and ideas — like clay.

The Writing Room: Heather Donahue and Me – How I Got Hooked on a Pothead

September 16, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I bought Heather Donahue’s book about marijuana farming, "Grow Girl," because she’s a writer friend of a writer friend of mine. This is what happened.

Purple Bearded Irises — Close Up and (Very) Personal

May 8, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

[caption id="attachment_28388" align="aligncenter" width="500"]

Irises -- An iris blossom close up. Purple. Photo by Barbara Newhall

An iris blossom close up. Purple. Photo by Barbara Newhall[/caption]

There’s a heck of a lot of erotica going on inside an iris blossom. Stamen. Pistel. Haft. Claws. And, of course, those fuzzy, caterpillar-like beards. Read more.