Yes

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On September 8, I gave up. I told God, “I’m done. If writing isn’t what You want me to do, I won’t do it. I’ll let it go. I do let it go.” And I did. I dropped it on the floor. There wasn’t much left of it—I’d crushed it...

The Best Writer I Can Be

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Here’s another post inspired by Gaudy Night, which I read back in May on the train to Iowa with Susan. This one was published on Tweetspeak back in June, in honor of author Dorothy Sayers’s birthday on June 13. A couple of years ago, when I was waxing...

A Writer’s Manifesto

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  A 12-point manifesto for the writing life. 1. A writer writes. Period. 2. A writer reads. Capaciously. 3. A writer distills experience, sense, image, sensation, life into words. 4. A writer rejoices in a well-turned phrase, an apt metaphor, an evocative...

Simply Love

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A friend recently wrote me a note of encouragement, which he closed with these words: Keep the main issue the main issue: “The whole point of what we’re urging is simply love—love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God.” (1 Timothy...