The historian tells you what happened.
The novelist will tell you what it felt like.
-E.L. Doctorow
Across oceans and centuries, my novels follow characters changed by events as drastic as a plague or as small as a thought. I love history, especially those periods, like the sixteenth century, that changed man’s entire way of thinking.
My stories are important, but so are yours. I founded the Village Writing School to teach people how to write their stories in the most engaging way. When I’m speaking at a conference on the power of words or teaching a workshop on subtext, I’m thinking how important some of the stories in that audience may be.
Beyond writing and teaching, I try to be a good person because the greatest act of creation is to fashion a beautiful life.
Prose Was (Almost) Dognapped!
Prose was (almost) dognapped! Whether they wanted her for themselves or to sell into slavery, I don't know. I don't even know for sure that my suspicions are correct. But I feel strongly that they are. We were on our way home. My mom, aunt, cousin, myself, and Prose....
The Mind of a Storyteller
My cousin Janice is a surgical nurse. She has worked very hard all her life and still has six years to go before retirement. Until last year, she had never been out of the U.S. She's a saver—one of the most frugal people I know, sensible in every way. Not what you...
We Are All Writers
I think we need to pay more attention. As a writer, I should be all about seeing connections, deeper meanings, reflections, allusions. And yet, how often do all of us keep our antennae retracted like a snail half out of its shell? I have a new mantra: This is tourist...