Writing Process
In which I abandon my main story and fall down a rabbit hole
I have spent far too much time over the last week working on a blog post about the Siberian Intervention: a minor American military expedition at the end of the First World War that has been crossing my path for more than a year. It just isn’t working. Even though I regularly reduce complicated stories…
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Back to the Basics
Every time I start writing a new book, I intend to read or re-read books about the craft of writing as I work. (The practice evaporates about two weeks into each project.) For the current book, I actually pulled all the books I wanted to read off the shelf and stacked them on the floor…
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Let There Be Light
One thing leads to another when I write. One minute I’m focused on the topic at hand. The next thing you know, I’m scurrying down a research rabbit hole. Earlier this week I was working on an article about a very minor (but quite delightful) artist named named Maurice Busset (1879-1936) who created a portfolio…
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