Heather Lende
Deadlines help. I was a columnist for years, and there's nothing like a deadline to inspire a writer. Also, Mary Oliver is right about not being a tourist in your own life- and being perpared to be astonished and talking about it-- and it may be why I don't really ever get "blocked" -- I just head out the door prepared to be astonished, and expecting to tell people about it- and when I do, that pretty much happens. The harder thing is to find the time needed to shape that moment-- that event-- that bright shiny light that caught my eye, into words that bring it to life on a page to someone who wasn't there with me. That just takes time, and rewrites, and time, and more edits. Some pieces work better than others.
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Marilyn
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Heather Lende:
I just finished reading Find the Good and have recommended it to everyone I know. I, too, am a small town obituary writer, always look for the good, and habitually walk on the sunny side of the street. I believe I may have passed your way a few years ago on an Alaskan cruise. My question - What are at lease five of your all-time favorite books?
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