This week my dear big sister Jill turned 80, and this is the poem I wrote for her. Poem for my big sister Jill I wanted to give you a poem eighty years back when you were first-born and armies were rising and peace receding. You learned about consultation in the womb. I wanted to […]
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Written materials are top candidates for decluttering Not all writing is sacred. Oh no no no. If we kept every word we wrote, writers would all be living in a midden of our own making. Most writing needs radical surgery before it works When it comes to poems and plays and novels and other books, killing your darlings, […]
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Joy of decluttering: know it? Some do, some don’t. I love clearing away clutter: it’s one of my favourite diversions. Last week I had an excuse to clear out half the contents of a little porch, commonly known as the cat’s ensuite. Any excuse will do. This time, a new clothes drier needs a vent. Whoopee — […]
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Talking to yourself has had a bad rap. I do it, you do it (don’t you?), pretty well everyone does it. We’re not crazy! Self-talk has many useful functions and many benefits. For example, your out-loud private talk can provide company, a pep talk, a safety valve, devil’s advocate, or coaching from your infallible cognitive behaviour therapist. Often we […]
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The first course I’m preparing for Udemy (short, online, largely video) is Write Over Divorce. It’s been great fun so far, planning the curriculum and making slideshows and videos. One video is about how I have used writing to reduce the trauma of divorce — and it includes an alarming piece of doggerel, written when my marriage was beyond repair. […]
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