This week’s topic, it turns out, really is the perfect subject for this week. We have a new president, a new spirit in our country, and we’re reassessing ourselves and how people see us in the world. I, for one, am chomping at the bit. Am I the only one who’s sick of Paris Hilton and celebrity culture? Tired of TV shows that proselytize overpriced stilettos and couture handbags? Completely…
It started with Hanukkah. When she was three, my first daughter came home from pre-school toting a dreidel and singing a Christmas carol. My Irish Catholic/English husband shrugged and gave the top a whirl. A month and a half later, she came home, plopped a red lantern on the table, and chortled, “Gung Hay Fat Choy!” My husband raised his eyebrows. “What?” I cleared my throat. “She’s wishing us happy…
I’ve always approached the zodiac with a skepticism that I reserve for psychics and the lottery. But at the same time, I’m very quick to read my horoscope whenever it’s offered (Glamour magazine, The Washington Post, The Village Voice…). Sure, I scoff over it if it doesn’t fit me and my life at all, but I keep reading it. I guess it’s kind of like avoiding walking under a ladder…
Is it just me, or aren’t we all always transforming? Oh sure, I can pinpoint the major transformative moments in my life – going into the Peace Corps, becoming a mother, selling my first book. But if I think about it, there have been dozens, no hundreds, heck maybe thousands of smaller but equally as transformational events in my life. My first trip out of the country might have been…
We seem to live in a culture obsessed with the power of transformation. We have TV shows that tell us how we can redecorate our homes, magazines that tell us what kind of clothes and makeup to buy for which occassions, how to lose weight, how to gain muscle, how to make ourselves bigger and better in every way. Except, I don’t want to change. I think I’m fine, thanks…
As I craft new characters for my books, I spend a lot of time thinking about names. We infer a lot about people because of their names, and our own names shape our sense of self and our identity. To find the perfect name for a character, I go through baby books and phone books, and try out a variety of names for my characters before one sticks. It has…
Writing fiction is all about living vicariously. When you create a character, you get to see through someone else’s eyes, think through someone else’s brain. When I’m bored, I just check out and put myself in a character’s mindset for a while. Being “elsewhere”–or “elsewhom”–becomes second nature. Maybe this is why I’m not one of those people with a defined personal style. I’m all about contradictions. I’ll wear pretty much…
Is there a transformation more personal and dramatic than becoming a parent? My sister once said to me, “You’re a different person now” after children and my reaction was something like, “Of course.” How can you not be changed when you have two helpless creatures looking to you for not only food, water, shelter, clothing but to shape them into the adults they will become? You will teach them to…
