"I buried the bone in my backyard, under the Japanese maple tree, as Puma told me to. I would have thought the offering should be left in the wilderness, in the high places, close to the mountain gods. But no, under this tree in our tiny yard, the dense weave of city life ... more
writing a book
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Rebecca - - No responsesTrying on handwoven ponchos, Peru, July 2016 A year ago, I published this essay that centered around a bone I buried in my yard, on direction from my character, shall we say. It was an offering, old-school: -
Rebecca - - 2 responsesWeaving workshop, October 2014 The main character in my novel is a weaver. This is not surprising, since weaving in the Andes used to be an integral activity. One needs clothing, after all. Thankfully weaving traditions are still alive, though they've taken a huge hit in the modern world. In places traditional backstrap loom weaving is being rejuvenated through the hard work of organizations and individuals. When we lived in Peru, we were great appreciators of weaving, and amateur collectors, but I never attempted to learn. People tried to explain backstrap loom weaving to me, but ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesNew bookshelf by my desk: journal, books as reminders, books for the future, and a tortoise If I were going to teach a MFA class, it would be "How to keep being a writer once you're no longer in grad school and no one is keeping tabs on your writing anymore." Seriously, why is there not a class like this? It should be mandatory in the last semester of all MFA programs. The send-off should be "Now we've taught you what we can, we've given you deadlines and feedback, and we're ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesA beautiful morning in Berkeley, April 2016 I'm loving the time management/prioritization concept of "3 big rocks," which I discovered via writing coach Jenna Avery, and she credits to Stephen Covey. If you're not familiar with the concept, Jenna explains it nicely in this blog post, so I won't recap it here. This has got me thinking: what are my three big rocks, overall, in my life right now? Two are easy: Boys. Book. But what's the third? I'm torn between two possibilities. It could be Wellness, which would include my near-daily attempts ... more -
Rebecca - - 4 responsesI am honored to have a new essay published alongside luminous writers in Dark Matter: Women Witnessing, Issue #3. The essay is called The Bone in My Yard: A Story-Carrier's Path. It's available in a neat Flip Book format by clicking here (though do note the title is not exactly right in the Flip Book version). Or you can read the regular version by clicking here. There's a way to leave a comment on the article by clicking on Reader Response. If you do, I'd love if you also ... more -
Rebecca - - One responsePath to Eagle Rock, Topanga Canyon, California, While on writing intensive with Deena Metzger, May 2015 In May, I finished the draft of my book. It took me 18 months to write it. The first year was pretty much 15 minutes a day, plus retreats. Then I got impatient and decided I wanted this draft done before I turned 40. I picked up the pace and increased my average daily writing session. I gave myself the deadline of July 1 and calculated how many words I would have to write a day to ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesOne of my favorite spots in New Jersey, July 2015 In many things, I am a perfectionist. I try to tell myself “good enough is good enough,” but it’s often hard for me to believe it. However, there is one place in my life where striving for mediocrity is just right for me, and that is meditation. There has only been one period of my life when I meditated regularly, and I always did it badly. In fact, I remember only two sessions of meditation that felt anywhere close to transcendent. ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesLego creation, April 2015 What on earth have I been up to? Oh, yeah, that writing a book raising a family doing work in the world cooking cleaning laundry juggling act called life. I have a lot I could say. Sometimes having a lot to say equals not saying anything. Circuits get overfull, or something like that. And so, a poem for you. "Advice to Myself" by Louise Erdrich, via The Writer's Almanac Leave the dishes. Let the celery rot in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator and an earthen scum harden on the kitchen floor. Leave the black ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesThis one's from the vault. June 2005, backpacking in the highlands outside Chinchero, Peru. I've been looking at pictures to remind myself of the geography, which often leads me down memory lane to major distraction, but amazingly hasn't much this weekend. Ironically, I am not feeling distracted at the moment. I am feeling focused and intentional, in the flow of ideas, big and little. Don't you love that state? I'm on another of my solo writing retreats (I'm such a lucky girl). This weekend I'm a lady with a vision on a ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesOne year ago, I started writing daily on my book. I heard about National Novel Writing Month, and even though I knew that there was no way I’d make it to 50,000 words in a month, even if I wasn’t starting a week late, I decided “Why not?” I had done enough work reimagining the book at this point. Now I needed to dive in and write it. Of course, I had already written it. I had two complete drafts, written over three years, plus another draft half-way through that ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesHalf Moon Bay, September 2014 I'm sure there are psychologist and personal growth experts who have written treatises about the phenomena of what happens when you set your mind to try to make something happen. I am not a psychologist or personal growth expert. But I can tell you that the choice of the word “intention” as one of Mikhail and my three words for the year has been a powerful one. I think I chose the word because I was already seeing that at work in ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesUnrelated except it made me laugh: I was going to buy a Dr. Pepper, but this Coke called my name. Literally. One of my tricks for squeezing in writing time on my novel is to find a quiet parking spot on a tree-lined street and write in my car. Knowing this, a member of my Writer's Circle group recently recommended that I get a laptop desk, which hooks onto the steering wheel and provides a work surface, rather than my general method of pushing the seat all the way back ... more
