Morning Walks

As someone who loves running, I for many years had a bitter disposition towards walking. Walking (instead of running) was a kind of cheating, not “real” exercise, at least not compared to running several miles.

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Movies Bore Me

My friends know me well enough not to ask if I’ve seen a recent movie, or really any movie. My lack of movie-watching, however, is not a part of some anti-movie mindset. If people ask why I don’t watch movies, my answer is not quite what they expect: I get bored and restless. I suspect they assume (correctly) that I prefer books, and that my preference is the primary reason why I watch so few movies.

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Making More Time for Writing

I tell my creative writing students that the writing life is as much about “trade-offs” as it is about anything else. You have to give up other pursuits to write seriously. You will have to sacrifice other interests. I suspect that this message is offensive and too radical, even to my students who dream of writing “full time.”

When I was younger, I could pursue all of my interests, or so it seemed. As I’ve aged, I’ve learned that some tough choices are necessary. I can’t pursue everything I’m interested in. For one, I have a full-time job, I have a wife, I have two elementary-aged kids. Add in a number of other roles I play.

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