
“Our people did a thorough Internet search on you,” the editor from the conservative publishing house told me.
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Last time, I wrote an essay about endings—and for this issue I decided to write about beginnings. Topsy-turvy thinking, or all part of my careful plan? Let’s go with the topsy-turvy thinking. But I have a great excuse for going in reverse order: once again, I’ve been given food for thought by some excellent writers.
For me, a list is like a life preserver, something to keep me afloat when I feel like I’m sinking under the weight of “shoulds” and “gotta’s.”
If I had to name the most challenging aspects of writing—no matter if we’re talking about fiction or nonfiction—nailing the ending would come at the top of the list, followed by “getting started” and “doing the middle bit.” Coming up with the right ending can throw a writer into a tizzy.
We had two reference books at home when my siblings and I were in elementary school. One was a massive dictionary, the other was a massive encyclopedia. These two volumes must have each cost my parents a small fortune, but they were invaluable. Together, the tomes probably weighed more than any one of us kids. …
I own nineteen books about—or related to—writing, not counting the big fat Houghton Mifflin Dictionary that I rarely use since I now have the dictionary app on my iPhone.