“Writing Dollars and Sense,” by Daniel Holland
Should I write a story
with big words that pays big money?
Or, should I write this story
that is worth only five cents
but makes sense to me?
Should I write a story
with big words that pays big money?
Or, should I write this story
that is worth only five cents
but makes sense to me?
July 4, 1976, the United States celebrated its Bicentennial. In 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. As the N Y Times board blog says: “It makes sense to think of the Fourth of July as the start of a season and not as a one-day holiday moored off by itself. But it…
William T. Dawson’s poem “Moonlighting” is a poem of an event from the 1980s (when some of us remember the recession). Dawson’s poem speaks to our times as hard times cycle back around. I asked William to tell us a bit about the context surrounding writing his poem. This is what he said: I write…
While Arletta Dawdy researched her book HUACHUCA WOMAN, she read widely about the Mexican Revolution, visited Columbus, New Mexico and learned to admire Pancho Villa. Arletta says, “Many controversies whirled around the man, including tales of his sister’s fate and his response. Variously, we are told the hacendado came to claim her and Doroteo Arango…
When the blister wants to come out, there’s no stopping it. Walk too much–the blister can come out. Use your hands a lot–the blister will come out. “Me, Blister, I will travel.” Sit down a lot and see what happens. The end.
Mother shooed us into the cellar. I turned my pockets inside out and showed her my discoveries. While we waited for the storm to pass, my mother told us stories: saints’ bones preserved in crypts of faraway cathedrals; healers who told the future by throwing bones as if they were dice; and air-raid cellars in…
The Nurse Remembers I remember the first meeting, as we signed her up…being in silence as I took her vitals and did the paperwork. Her cancer was so large when we found it, you could see it in her breast. We talked about her pain. I remember when she first was wheeled in to the…
July 4, 1976, the United States celebrated its Bicentennial. In 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. As the N Y Times board blog says: “It makes sense to think of the Fourth of July as the start of a season and not as a one-day holiday moored off by itself. But it…
William T. Dawson’s poem “Moonlighting” is a poem of an event from the 1980s (when some of us remember the recession). Dawson’s poem speaks to our times as hard times cycle back around. I asked William to tell us a bit about the context surrounding writing his poem. This is what he said: I write…
While Arletta Dawdy researched her book HUACHUCA WOMAN, she read widely about the Mexican Revolution, visited Columbus, New Mexico and learned to admire Pancho Villa. Arletta says, “Many controversies whirled around the man, including tales of his sister’s fate and his response. Variously, we are told the hacendado came to claim her and Doroteo Arango…
When the blister wants to come out, there’s no stopping it. Walk too much–the blister can come out. Use your hands a lot–the blister will come out. “Me, Blister, I will travel.” Sit down a lot and see what happens. The end.
Mother shooed us into the cellar. I turned my pockets inside out and showed her my discoveries. While we waited for the storm to pass, my mother told us stories: saints’ bones preserved in crypts of faraway cathedrals; healers who told the future by throwing bones as if they were dice; and air-raid cellars in…
The Nurse Remembers I remember the first meeting, as we signed her up…being in silence as I took her vitals and did the paperwork. Her cancer was so large when we found it, you could see it in her breast. We talked about her pain. I remember when she first was wheeled in to the…
July 4, 1976, the United States celebrated its Bicentennial. In 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. As the N Y Times board blog says: “It makes sense to think of the Fourth of July as the start of a season and not as a one-day holiday moored off by itself. But it…
William T. Dawson’s poem “Moonlighting” is a poem of an event from the 1980s (when some of us remember the recession). Dawson’s poem speaks to our times as hard times cycle back around. I asked William to tell us a bit about the context surrounding writing his poem. This is what he said: I write…
While Arletta Dawdy researched her book HUACHUCA WOMAN, she read widely about the Mexican Revolution, visited Columbus, New Mexico and learned to admire Pancho Villa. Arletta says, “Many controversies whirled around the man, including tales of his sister’s fate and his response. Variously, we are told the hacendado came to claim her and Doroteo Arango…
When the blister wants to come out, there’s no stopping it. Walk too much–the blister can come out. Use your hands a lot–the blister will come out. “Me, Blister, I will travel.” Sit down a lot and see what happens. The end.
Mother shooed us into the cellar. I turned my pockets inside out and showed her my discoveries. While we waited for the storm to pass, my mother told us stories: saints’ bones preserved in crypts of faraway cathedrals; healers who told the future by throwing bones as if they were dice; and air-raid cellars in…
The Nurse Remembers I remember the first meeting, as we signed her up…being in silence as I took her vitals and did the paperwork. Her cancer was so large when we found it, you could see it in her breast. We talked about her pain. I remember when she first was wheeled in to the…
Daniel, you strike to the heart of the quasi-professional writer’s dilemna. I’ve always chosen to write the story that makes sense to me. I believe it is possible to do both–make both sense and cents…it’s an acquired skill.