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If You Have Five Seconds to Spare

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If You Have Five Seconds to Spare

Tag Archives: essays

What can I write in 5 minutes?

September 19, 2021

I could use some writing advice…since I went back to work a month ago, I have done almost zero writing. …

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Unfinished business

August 12, 2021

How many unfinished pieces of writing do you have? I have an embarrassing amount of essays that are about 90 …

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A surefire way to blend scene and reflection in essays

July 8, 2021

The hallmark of an effective memoir or essay is the blend of scene and reflection, or the “show AND tell.” …

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Reel Bay: An innovative, creative work of nonfiction

February 17, 2021

I enjoyed this book immensely. It’s about a woman’s search to find out more about Takako Konishi, who died in …

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A tip for managing unwieldy essays

February 16, 2021

I’m a big fan of dumping my ideas onto a piece of paper when I’m writing an essay. It helps …

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Review of Melissa Faliveno’s debut essay collection, “Tomboyland”

July 30, 2020

I’m often mistaken for a vegetarian.  I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s my tattoos. Or my hair color—a shock of …

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“Write something beautiful” — Dessa

March 3, 2020

I probably am the only remaining Minnesotan unfamiliar with Dessa’s music. I know who she is — how could I …

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Read essays to write essays

January 26, 2020

“Read five poems for every one you write.” I read this piece of advice in the Jan/Feb 2020 issue of …

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Some short, wonderful definitions of “essay”

October 10, 2019

Rebecca Solnit, in her introduction to this year’s edition of Best American Essays, offers some wonderful, succinct definitions of essay. …

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On being a turtle writer

August 31, 2019

In terms of writing, I’m definitely a turtle, not a hare. Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Midland_painted_turtle.jpg   Some days the writing just …

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