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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
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
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the writing life

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

September 16, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Heather Donahue's book jacket Grow Girl: How My LIfe After "The Blair Witch Project Went to Pot"

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.

Sam Lamott Couldn’t Make It, but Anne Arrived With a Bouquet of Bons Mots

September 15, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Anne Lamott. Photo by BF Newhall

Sam Lamott was too busy being an art student and the father of a 2-year-old to show up at a book signing for “Some Assembly Required,” the book he wrote with his mother, the best-selling author Anne Lamott. But Anne was present and had pithy things to say about writing — and being the mother of a 22-year-old father. Read more.

The Writing Room: My Flesh Is Weary — Too Much Book-Writing, Not Enough Yoga

May 6, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The cluttered desk and computer of a busy writer. Photo by BF Newhall.

Can you guess who wrote this? “Of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” Hint: The writer’s been dead for at least two millenniums. Read more.

How to Tell if You’re a Writer

March 25, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A writer is someone who . . .

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

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.”

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

A Manners-Challenged Kid Who Became the Apple of His Grandma’s Eye

Small children with grandmother on Lake Michigan beach. Photo by BF Newhall.

“Move,” said my 6-year-old son Peter to his grandmother. “I want to get by.” My mother looked up from her book and gave my son a hard look. 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!

concrete-being-poured

Watching People Working With Their Hands — Why Am I So Fascinated? Sheltering in Place Week 25

Barbara Falconer Newhall photo. Midwest 1945.

I’m Going to Be a Grandmother — Or Will I Be a Grannie? A Grandma? A Nana?

A storybook Tudor house for sale in Minneapolis.

I Brake for Floor Plans — I Like to See How Those Other People Live

The view from the bow of a ferry boat making its way through the San Juan Islands in summer. Photo by Barbara Newhall

San Juan Islands Flora: Or, I Cling, Therefore I Am

MORE DON'T MISS!

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