Ethical dilemma: Writing “non-fiction as literature”

I have a great-uncle who is an orchestral musician. He composes music in his sleep, the most famous among our family being a concerto he watched his cat bang out on a grand piano. He was dreaming, of course, and it’s really too bad that cat has passed away. Not that my uncle needs him to write. He had a stroke 20 years ago that limited movement in half of his body. Somehow he became a better pianist with one hand than most people will ever be with two. You’ve heard stories like that before, no doubt. I guess if you’re determined to do something so much that you do it in your sleep, you will find a way around a physical handicap.

Can you find your way around a mental one?

How to set the creative mood

Livre looks out the open window in my home office. We both like to hear the birds.

I am no expert on this topic. In truth, I am looking for help from readers who might have better tips than I do to charge their brains and get the juices flowing. But right now I’m feeling it, so right now I’ll share what I did.

I’m starting this blog as an excuse to continue procrastinating

I am a journalist who works for a major newspaper chain that, like all newspaper chains, is struggling with transforming changes within our industry and a terrible U.S. economy on top of that. This week I am on an unpaid furlough, which I thought would be miserable but is turning out to be quite inspiring.

I've spent much of the week on this bench, finishing "2666" and drinking white wine.

I promised myself I would spend this week being the kind of mother who reads to the class and eats in the cafeteria. (It’s Wednesday, and I’ve already done both of those things. I’ve also bought her some socks at Target, cooked dinner each night, planted seeds in my container garden, replenished the bird feeders, made blueberry pies, killed a bottle of wine on an old friend’s patio, and wandered around the stacks at Borders.)