by Sandra Gulland | Oct 30, 2009 | Adventures of a Writing Life |
I’ve mentioned Lauren B. Davis’s wonderful blog on writing here before. Her post today—From this broken hill…—is especially moving. The video clip she includes of a performance of Leonard Cohen’s “If it be your will” could be every writer’s anthem.
by Sandra Gulland | Aug 26, 2009 | Adventures of a Writing Life |

I’m keeping to my writing schedule, although I continue to feel a bit lost. Middles!
When I finished today, I puttered: rearranging my books, entering titles into my bibliography, putting articles in binders. Getting books up off the floor. (I’ve a long way to go on this.) I like order in my spaces—which helps explain why I’ve been a little frantic.
I’m also trying to organize the blogs I’d like to read, and so finally tackled setting up Google Reader. In doing so today, I read writer Lauren B. Davis‘s excellent blog post on rewriting: The death of my darlings. I highly recommend it.
I loved her Chekhov quote, his advice on description:
“very brief and relevant . . . one ought to seize upon the little particulars, grouping them in such a way that, in reading, when you shut your eyes, you get a picture.”

I’m reading Evening by Susan Minot. She writes beautifully spare descriptions.