Sugar Ain’t Sweet
The night before I quit smoking forever, 25 years ago, I chain-smoked a whole pack of cigarettes. I had a smoker’s cough; I wanted to free myself from the tyranny of nicotine; and I did not want to follow [...]
What Would I Do?
What would I do if I couldn’t write? Read. What would I do if I couldn’t read? Have someone read to me. What would I do if I couldn’t hear? Learn to read with my [...]
Good Fiction Needs a Pile of Shit
As I reinvent myself one more time, and at last begin to fulfill my lifelong passion to write fiction, I must finally learn how to practice the “cultivation of leisure.” This phrase: “cultivation of leisure,” which I know I got [...]
Bike Writing
I write volumes in my head while riding my bicycle. Recently, while on vacation in Vermont, I averaged about 25 miles a day. By the end of 7 days I had written a best-selling novel and a few blog posts—all [...]
Reflecting on Silence
You know that moment when you're alone in the house, or no one is talking, there is no TV or radio or computer on, and all of a sudden the refrigerator motor turns off and the house is filled with [...]
From Proust to Ayn Rand
How I wish Goodreads had been around back in March 1994 when my book group read and discussed our first book over dinner. I might have a more extensive account of the 80 books we’ve read so far, and the [...]