ARCHIVE

December 30, 2023

January Writing

Two years ago I decided to do a self-guided writing retreat in the off-season at an artist residency center. My own space, my own time, alone, just me and my writing. I didn’t even want to negotiate the shared

By Susan Dixon

Seasonings

December 21, 2023

Winter Solstice

Dorie Greenspan has a classic recipe for the perfect cookie that she got from Pierre Hermé. It’s basically a French sablé but like an American chocolate chip cookie, it is made with both white and brown sugar. It’s got

By Susan Dixon

workshops, writing

December 11, 2023

Why writing in January is a really good idea

The holidays are over.
No one expects anything of you.
It’s dark.
No social obligations.
Hygge.
It’s quiet.
There are still some cookies left.

Cozy Writing : Winter At-Home Writers Retreats

By Susan Dixon

Seasonings

December 3, 2023

Advent 2023

As soon as we arrived in St. Petersburg, Florida, in the early 60s, my parents went “church shopping,” visiting Methodist churches one after another. Things went awry every time. One church didn’t have a Sunday School. The minister at

By Susan Dixon

Journey, writing about war

September 24, 2023

Still, the journey

The last three times I have traveled it was to Vietnam. I prepared in all the usual ways—passport, suitcase organization, contingency plans—and I used Rosetta Stone and/or Duolingo to study the language. I had no illusions that I would

By Susan Dixon

Seeking Quan Am

August 7, 2023

The POW-MIA Metaphor

My writing group, The Pen and the Sword, considers topics related to any war, but the Vietnam War in particular. Our theme at the moment is After War—the ways in which cultures, communities, individuals leave war behind and transition

By Susan Dixon

writing, thinking, talking

July 14, 2023

A Place for Interesting Things

I used to think, because this is how I was trained—in high school, in college, in grad school, in life—that I had to have a Theme. If I wanted to host a blog/website/discussion/writing space, it had to have a

By Susan Dixon

Seeking Quan Am

June 26, 2023

… After All These Years

You’d think, after giving it more than 50 years, that we, the Vietnam War Generation, would have managed to make some sense of it. Fifty years worth of education, life experience, technical skill, hobbies, travel, social engagement—all those things

By Susan Dixon

Holy Water

February 2, 2023

A scene that (probably) won’t make it into the book

“And what did Catarine say to you?”

“I don’t remember clearly …”

“Because she never makes much sense,” Cristophe interrupted.

“Something about someone who knew me and

By Susan Dixon

Holy Water

January 10, 2023

The Writing Benefits of ‘Flu Brain’

While the flu had hold of me, I couldn’t remember the names of things. It was like my brain had just stopped dealing with minor details as it re-ordered itself. That frightened my daughter who began to ask for

By Susan Dixon

“It’s Imbolc,” I say, brightly. “The first day of spring. In the Celtic calendar.”