Jean's Blog

It doesn’t feel like spring yet here, but Jean let me outside today, and when she wasn’t looking (she was planting pansies), I jumped up on the roof and went all the way to the top and looked around. Great view and the squirrels were freaked out. I wandered around, sniffed things, and didn’t really want to come back down, but Jean was calling me and shaking the treat bag and after a while I figured I’d better get off the roof and back down on the deck. After several treats Jean put me inside (as she said she had things to do), but I didn’t mind as by then I was ready for a nap. Can you beat that for a great day? Henry

One of the speakers I heard at the AWP conference was Ron Carlson and I have almost finished reading his profoundly helpful book on the writing process: “Ron Carlson Writes a Story.” It’s published by Graywolf Press and offers a step-by-step approach to writing. He clearly is someone who knows what he’s talking (or writing) about and this small book is packed with wisdom. One of my favorite lines so far:  “the writer is the one who stays in the room.” He also mentions that he does his best writing just after resisting the impulse to leave the room. Read it!