Category Archives: writing

This blog is so under my skin right now. Just for the vocabulary alone. Maliboobs. Lagging. Babearaus Rex. Skeet.

I’m going to keep putting these out, I think, as long as I can do it without giving too much away. Unedited, badly formatted, etc. ———————- I crossed Westwood, waited for a walk at Le Conte, and then jogged up … Continue reading →

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Here are some notes towards a short story I may or may not be working on. NOTES. Not the story itself. If I were working on it, it would be titled My Tears Like Pieces of Fried Chicken. Would it … Continue reading →

I like the idea of working with existing characters in fiction. It’s sort of an Oulipo thing: if you were to write a comic book about Archie Andrews, you’d have to hew to a specific set of constraints – the … Continue reading →

Written the Andreaa way: 1000 words a day. (I only worked on my last book when the moon was full, I was coming down from a perfect high, had a good meal, etc., which is why it took me three … Continue reading →

Ego-syntonic and -dystonic. From psychology. Ego-syntonic is “a sign, symptom, or experience which the patient finds acceptable and consistent with his personality,” and ego-dystonic is the opposite. Closeted homosexuals can be said to be ego-dystonic, and so can self-hating Jews. … Continue reading →

Nathalie’s guestblogger Michelle expresses disappointment in Jhumpa Lahiri’s new novel The Namesake and concludes “…that’s where it comes back to the whole “be a nice reviewer” thing—if we limit the world of reviews to books we essentially like, does that … Continue reading →

In my memory are a girl and a boy, both seven. It has snowed ten inches, and they are standing outside under the breezeway, halfway between the big house and the school. Performing the most independent act of his young … Continue reading →

I feel hot breath on the back of my neck. But it’s not true—my lover isn’t here. I go to the fridge. It is almost empty. I look at its insides with matching empty eyes. There is sweet relish, half … Continue reading →

Disposing of the empty box of garbage bags by putting it in the last garbage bag. Assuming an animal mascot. Prescription drug anxiety. Woodsmoke. Greatest Hits. Drinking, but not to excess, at a local bar. Recording conversations on microtape. Swedish … Continue reading →