Frequently Asked Questions

I have always enjoyed writing but without training and support my practice was mostly limited to letters, or inconsistent journalling. Occasionally I wrote for local newsletters or other small publications. Some time in my forties I committed to writing an hour a day. I wrote by hand, usually with a fountain pen or pencil, in a journal or on loose paper. Finally, I registered for a class at Sonoma State University. I picked the class because it met one evening a week and fit in with my work schedule. The professor became an invaluable and supportive mentor, and I began to produce more complete and skilled pieces. I found I loved writing and revising more than I could have expected, so eventually applied to a Master of Fine Arts program, achieving my degree in fiction and nonfiction. Since then (and after covid), I have become even more dedicated, sitting down to create almost every day. We are all charged with adding some form of art to this world, some beauty and grace, and I feel blessed to find this magical way to contribute. Yes, I still write letters. 

My writing process involves exploring ideas and images, creating, and revising. Writing a piece (long or short) can take weeks to years depending on my inspiration. I usually write (or do writerly things, like reading, organizing, submitting, and cataloguing submission deadlines and opportunities for un-agented writers, between 6pm and 8pm. If I have time, and especially if I have an ongoing project that has grabbed a hold of me, I try to get an hour in before work (usually between 5am and 6am). Sometimes my loved ones mention starting a writing/publishing career this late in life as an accomplishment, but I think the accomplishment is managing it while sill working as a physician and teacher. The hours and mental fatigue can at times be a barrier to my creativity and ability to get quality, cohesive work onto the page, 

I write fiction and nonfiction and am particularly inspired by my relationships to animals and the natural world. One of my favorite transformations is when characters undergo epiphany that reveals a beauty in his/her life that he/she hasn't seen before. A few of my short stories poise the protagonist on the edge of change.  A few links are provided on the home page. I am looking for a publisher for my memoir and working on two collections: one essays, one short stories. 

Since I received this question, have been turning it over in my head. There are many parts of writing, for example: ideas, construction, drafting, revision, submission, and then the less mechanical stuff that has to do with spirit which might be better characterized as persistence, and perceptions of art and what that means to me.