the writing life

reinventing myself

September 19, 2016
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It’s time for the obligatory “end of homeschooling” post. I have to write it, right? After twenty years of homeschooling, my youngest has walked down the road to the high school bus stop, and I’m no longer a homeschooler. I’m no longer a homeschooler, after eight years of writing a blog with a homeschooling bent. […]

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off the grid

June 30, 2016
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I took a trip to the River Teeth Nonfiction Conference again this June. I thought about writing up a complete rundown, like I did last year, but I don’t know that I could bring back the magic of the original. This year’s conference was wonderful, all the same. If you’re a writer, don’t miss Steve Harvey […]

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it all came back

March 30, 2016
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That’s a photo of my oldest two on our very first day of homeschooling. September 9, 1997. Look at my H with his gappy smile–he knocked out that tooth at three–all proud of his clay head creation. Look at my Lulu with that sweet fat cheek, cutting clay competent as anything though she isn’t yet two. The […]

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i like making my own assignments

January 7, 2016
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I know I said I’d write about reading in January, but once January arrived I could think of no better way to oust that Christmas tree from this page than with a photo of a journal. Everyone loves journals in January. That one right there is where I’m working on my MFA. I ordered this journal last […]

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notes from a writing conference

July 8, 2015
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I fly into Ohio on the redeye. I get to sit in the window seat, since I have no kids with me, and watch Lake Erie come into view, all misty in the dawn. It’s 6:15 a.m. when I land, and I have a morning to fill. I take the Red Line into downtown Cleveland, and drag my carry-on to the […]

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nine questions about writing for the rare readers who wonder

March 12, 2015
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I fully realize that reflections on the writing process can be fascinating reading for writers–and dull as tax documents for non-writers. I also realize that over the years I’ve acquired a readership made up largely of homeschoolers, and that I’m not necessarily writing much about homeschooling here these days. Which is to say that the post that […]

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i have a picture of you on my heart

August 5, 2014
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I’ve been rereading my mother’s journals for an essay that I’m working on, and rediscovering nuggets like these: H at three, when I asked him to put away one set of toys before taking out another: “I’m not into that.” Lulu at five, working out the nuances of words: “Is plump a nicer way to […]

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