For the past couple of years, I’ve worked on a memoir about the loves in my life, which has been a process I couldn’t have predicted when I wrote the first line. So many questions arose throughout the work (which is almost done — first draft goes to my agent by Labor Day), some of which I anticipated while others appeared born of the memoir-writing process itself. The first mini-draft (an overgrown outline) arrived linearly. I began with the first relationship and worked my way through to the current moment, but even though early readers loved it, the shape of that story didn’t meet my own expectations. I wanted the…

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In Masaru Emoto’s Hidden Messages in Water, he explains the way water crystals change in reaction to what’s being said or thought. When exposed to negative emotions or words, the crystals in the water actually change, becoming erratic and jagged. I remember Emoto’s story every time I receive a rejection, and in the writing world, we all receive them regularly—even those who have been on the bestseller lists. As a writer, I’ve built a career based on dozens of books, hundreds of articles, reviews, short stories, and poems. People consider me successful, and if success isn’t defined by a huge paycheck, I suppose I am, but not everything I have…

I had no idea what to call this blog post. I thought about Writing What You Don’t Know or Writing Taboo or Racial Writing, but nothing quite fit. I had an idea after hearing a piece on NPR that vaguely referred to the stigma some authors face when writing about a race or culture with which they’re not familiar. The topic is one that’s been part of my personal writing conversation for many years, starting with my first non-fiction book on African-American art and collectibles. I’ve thought about it a lot, talked about the topic with my writer friends (of all races, genders, and nationalities) and continue to battle the…

Pablo Picasso said that, “Every child is an artist. The problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” Is it age that nullifies our artistic tendency, or is it the acceptance we desire for that which we create? I’ve always believed that creatives are not creative in only one genre. I do believe that creative people weave that ability into every aspect of their lives. I met a pianist who works in an art gallery, and when he travels on the road to deliver his music to people all over the world, he incorporates other arts into his performances (i.e., ballet, art, video). That urge to create has spilled…