So. Adam always makes fun of Erika (A.K.A. “Human-Mom”) for having cat-friends who (let’s be real) are total jerks. Every other moment they are perched on her neck. Or under her elbows. Or on her upper-arms. It makes writing a challenge. Kind of like when the physical therapist has you walking with those weights strapped…
Category: Writers on Writing
COVID: An Essay
One of my favorite authors, Michel de Montaigne, put the name “essais,” to a genre of literature that is at least as old as the Roman Republic. The word means “attempts.” The idea is that the literary work does not need to follow a set form, but rather could follow the workings of the human…
It’s Caturday and We have Questions: Introvert
Little Cat has been having a quiet week, living the introvert life since his recent attempt to take Orlando by storm. He’s been staying home mostly. Enjoying the time spent alone. Trying to take joy in the little things. You know, like in stepping on Human-Mom’s head while she tries to write. Yowling at birds…
Sharing a Poem
Very occasionally, I have the impetus to write a poem. And very much less occasionally, I have the impetus to share. It’s a strange feeling for me. Erika and I started this website because we wanted a forum for sharing our writing. And the writing of others. And yet I feel private and protective concerning…
The Writing Group: No Single Authors
Writing is often seen as a lonely journey. Whether you’re a content creator, a novelist or the author of a journal article. Imagine having to hide in a cubicle the whole day, not allowing yourself to get out, eat or drink, go to the washroom… Or picture yourself getting up painstakingly early just to write…
Rebirth: The Day I Became a Writer
We often mark time in our lives with rituals and rites of passage. Moments of birth and rebirth. Baby showers, weddings, funerals. There were a couple of years in junior high school where many weekends were taken up with b’nai mitzvot for friends or family members, followed a few years later by sweet sixteens. We…
It’s Caturday and We have Questions: Distractions
So Erika (a.k.a. Human-Mom) was doing some typing the other day with her three cats sitting on her like tiny royalty. Every time she tried to reach the keyboard it seemed like there was a cat’s butt in her way. Distractions, am I right? Such are the tribulations of a writer. And yet. Erika loves…
Peek inside the Rare Book Room
I want to talk for a bit about what was truly magical about being an academic: the rare book room. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I feel a bit dismal about my own PhD journey. Huge swaths of American Academia are a scam. I’m not alone in thinking this. But. But! There…
Language Pet-Peeves
This won’t be one of my more structured pieces. Let’s call it language pet peeves, but instead of my language pet-peeves, it’ll be YOUR pet-peeves that I, in turn, am peeved by. If you need a minute to reread that sentence, I’ll wait. Let’s dive into it, because there are some fun ones. Peeve the…
Celebrating Rejection
A Rejection Letter of My Very Own It seems there’s a theme going on right now at 2 Rules of Writing. Adam wrote about rejection letters last week. Erik Cheung also wrote about rejection letters last week. And now it’s my turn. Last week I got a rejection letter. I was expecting it, although strangely…