Tag Archives: non-fiction

How to Remember Your Future

Posted on May 19, 2025 by mitchteemley

Thought for the Week Thirteen Years. That’s how long Marcel Proust spent writing and expanding his seven-volume autobiographical novel. He obsessed over getting every detail right, and leaving nothing out. Only no one would publish it. So he published it … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Edit, Edit, Edit…and Then Edit Again

Posted on May 14, 2025 by mitchteemley

Some things never change: I’m currently working on the “final final” draft of my book. It’s all strictly scientific: First, I remove sequences. Then I put them back in. Then I remove them again. Then I move paragraphs, put them … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humor, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 95 Comments

The Storm I Couldn’t See Coming

Posted on May 13, 2025 by mitchteemley

Image by PortSundries My Real Memoir There’d been signs early on, but I was too young to know what they meant. In primary school I’d heard the phrase, “Step on a crack and break your mother’s back,” and started avoiding cracks. … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humor, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

Putting My Search for Meaning On Hold

Posted on March 11, 2025 by mitchteemley

My Real Memoir I’d been admitted, I discovered, to one of the top drama schools in the country. The “Welcome Theatre Majors! Party” at a wealthy alumna’s pad, revealed two other things: they could drink and they could think. If they’d been … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Memoir, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

I’ve Found the Cure for Writer’s Block

Posted on February 22, 2025 by mitchteemley

This is one possible cure. But there’s a preferable one below. Tips for Writers There are two definitions for “block”: 1) an obstacle to be avoided; 2) a material to be used (as in construction). The cure for Writers Block … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Humor, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 47 Comments

The Wonderful Smell of Books

Posted on February 17, 2025 by mitchteemley

Thought for the Week “They need to create a ‘book smell’ app!” I wrote after caving in and buying a tablet computer. But the smell was never the point; it was the memories it evoked. (Although I do still love … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Culture, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 65 Comments

Dangling by a Thread of Hope

Posted on February 4, 2025 by mitchteemley

My Real Memoir I’d just turned twenty-five, and was recovering from multiple goodbyes, while pushing back against that old recurring sense of purposelessness. So I clung to what remained: I still had friends, even if the tide had carried some away. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Here’s Why You Need to Learn to Love Editing

Posted on December 19, 2024 by mitchteemley

Tips for Writers Man, I love the smell coffee in the morning. But I didn’t always. I started drinking it because of what it could do for me–keep me alert during my first year of college. But then I gradually … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Humor, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 60 Comments

On being a cardigan

Posted on April 24, 2024 by mitchteemley

My Featured Blogger this week is Nora Edinger of JOY Journal. After a long career as a newswriter and occasional contributor to The Wasington Post, Nora is now an innkeeper and independent writer of both fiction and nonfiction. Her prose … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Quips and Quotes, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Tips for Writers: Subconscious Mannerisms

Posted on August 24, 2023 by mitchteemley

My high school drama teacher had a quirky habit: first he’d pull on his nose, and then he’d push on it. One day, in the midst of a discussion about mannerisms, he told us where this habit came from: As … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Memoir, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 34 Comments