It's official! I'll be performing at the Listen to Your Mother show in San Francisco on May 6th! I had submitted a humorous essay last year but was too ill to audition for the show after the piece was selected. Not content to submit the same piece this year, I wrote a new 800-word essay … Continue reading Listen to Your Mother – San Francisco
Tag: writing
Telling Details
I wrote this post a couple of days ago and accidentally hit the panic button. Sorry for the false alarm, but I didn't want it to be published in the same day as my last post. Let me try this again... Two days ago, I saw a woman get hit by a car, but I … Continue reading Telling Details
Umberto Eco – On Memory, Books, and Computers
Umberto Eco died on February 19, 2016. He was a brilliant man who wrote fascinating books. He also had an encyclopedic memory. Here's a brief interview filmed by David Ferrario. In the interview, Eco discusses memory, computers, and a terrifying future. For those of you with serious book envy that may trigger a Pavlovian response, … Continue reading Umberto Eco – On Memory, Books, and Computers
Citizens Creek – Lalita Tademy
Time to place the spotlight on adult historical fiction. This past Saturday evening, a friend and I hosted our school's literary dinner with guest author, Lalita Tademy. Neither I nor my co-host had read any of Lalita's books before inviting her to read and talk about her work. What we did know, we had gleaned from … Continue reading Citizens Creek – Lalita Tademy
Black Diamond Wisdom – Writers Take Note
Yesterday, at 10:59am PST, I despaired. Piles of research lay scattered about my desk, in my backpack, across the kitchen table. Papers I'd been shuttling around since last fall. I was trying to finish a revision of a nonfiction picture book I've been writing since last September, but I felt scattered. And I couldn't figure … Continue reading Black Diamond Wisdom – Writers Take Note
Hitting the “Send” Key — Squaw Valley Community of Writers
Tick! Tick! Tick! Just sent my short story submission to the good people who direct the Squaw Valley Community of Writers. If you've got a story or a chapter (5,000 words or fewer) from a novel lying about the house, you've got until MIDNIGHT TODAY to apply for this summer's workshop. Hope to see you … Continue reading Hitting the “Send” Key — Squaw Valley Community of Writers
Want to Improve Your Writing?
After getting my MFA in Creative Writing for adults, I thought I knew how to write. Turns out, I didn't know how to write stories with pictures. But for the past two years, I've been trying. Correction, the first year I flailed about in the dark. The second year, I bought a flashlight to shine … Continue reading Want to Improve Your Writing?
Rickey, Anyone? Stay Up With Me
Quick! Who knew that July is Rickey Month?! And who knows what a Rickey is? I'm waiting... So I showed up at the new Litquake offices in the Mechanics Institute building in the financial district of San Francisco for a short story class taught by Tom Barbash. At the end of class, those lovely Litquake … Continue reading Rickey, Anyone? Stay Up With Me
Spätzle (Spaetzle) 911 — aka U.S. vs Germany, World Cup
In honor of tomorrow's game, I'm reblogging a post from May 2012, a tribute to my German heritage. When my son came out of his bedroom this morning wearing black sweatpants tucked into the tops of his yellow soccer socks and a red shirt to celebrate family heritage day at school, I knew I … Continue reading Spätzle (Spaetzle) 911 — aka U.S. vs Germany, World Cup
Night Hiking & Writing – Facing Your Fears
As part of my son's school curriculum, the entire 4/5th grade classes (about 40 kids) went to farm school this past week in rural northern California, a place where you're more likely to encounter a cow, sheep, or bobcat on the road than a vehicle. Hawks and turkey vultures circled overhead while hummingbirds buzzed about … Continue reading Night Hiking & Writing – Facing Your Fears
Jilanne Hoffmann 