winter
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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
Clutter is a part of my life. Always has been, probably always will be. I tend to rationalize it, as in I tell myself I’m smart enough not to waste time on unnecessary cleaning. And there is some science to back me up on this. See article here: https://curiousmindmagazine.com/science-says-highly-intelligent-people-messy-profane-night-owls/ So it’s funny that I’ve been…
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On Deserving the Purple Chair
I have a new purple chair, which is really an old purple chair, a hand-me-down from a neighbor. She tells me the chair is from a hotel in town, though she doesn’t know which one. It’s a swayback (I think) with those long unfurling arms, and it is incredibly comfortable. The neighbor just says, “Good…
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Bolaño on other evenings
Getting caught up on reading this week. According to Goodreads’ book counter, I’m six books behind in my goal of 100 books for the year. Gulp. (Go here if you want to see what I’ve read so far.) But I’ve finished the semester’s grading, so … In my search for WHAT TO READ, I stumbled…
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The Third Draft–motivation in an unlikely source
I finally started the third draft of my memoir, The Warmth of a Winter Sun. I planned to work on it all winter break, but I couldn’t get motivated. I didn’t want to think about my father anymore. I’ve moved on since his suicide, and I believe writing the first drafts played a large role…
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Bullet on the Brain
I did make the switch back into fiction after more than a year away. (I wrote a memoir. See previous post on switching from nonfiction to fiction.) It wasn’t easy. I squirmed a lot. Then again, I always squirm a lot when I start writing—even if it’s only been a few days away from a…
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Making the Switch–writing fiction after nonfiction
I finished the second draft of my memoir (👏), which even has a new title: The Warmth of a Winter Sun. The book is currently 75,058 words. Not bad. But now the book has officially entered the “cooling off” phase. You know, that set amount of time (in this case, the coming fall semester) where I…
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The Secret Center of Bolaño’s 2666
I finished Roberto Bolaño’s epic novel 2666 in the beginning of July, but on a recent road trip with some fellow post-MFAers, I found myself talking about it. It’s a book that stays with you after you turn the last page for a lot of reasons, not least of which is its grim depictions of…
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What’s a little writing now that I’m here?
I’d been writing a section in my book about my parent’s marriage (think turbulent) when I stumbled across this old photo of a Superior diner. (Incidentally, I don’t even remember where or how I got the photo. If you want rights or know more, please tell me.) My parents met at this diner called Kitch’s…
L.L. Wohlwend 