My name is Eric, a teacher and a husband. In the daytime, I teach and research. In the night-time, I rest and cook, and sometimes run and play music. Lately, I do research, teaching preps, proposals and plans. Cooking and running in the evening. Seven days a week. I don’t mean to scare you, but…
Tag: mental health
Your New Year’s Writing Resolution
So you want to start writing. Maybe you’ve tried other New Year’s Resolutions in the past and they haven’t stuck–or they have! Maybe you’ve tried more health-related ones or career-related ones. A New Year’s Resolution to write more is a wonderful thing. Cynic that I am, I think it’s a nice idea to take stock…
Mental Health Before Writing
Self-Care For a Disabled Writer I wouldn’t be the writer I am if it weren’t for the particular set of challenges that I have. The one who writes about my own difficult truths, one who tries to do it with sensitivity and compassion for the people who are reading it. I frequently forget to extend…
Expectations: When will I be a “Writer”?
So, this happened: Last Monday, as I was making last minute edits to the piece about writing and ADHD, I got an email. That day, my ADHD felt extra strong and everything that could distract me did. It was no surprise that I stopped what I was doing and immediately went and looked at my…
Give Yourself Permission to Write
This is a topic that’s dear to my heart. People are likely to look at me (on paper) and think there’s no way I could be experiencing impostor syndrome about my writing. I’m over 450 manuscript pages into a novel. I finished and submitted a 300-page dissertation in 2019 and was granted the degree of…
But I Can’t Do That?
Writing with ADHD I’ve been watching the clock this weekend, knowing I had to get something finished so it would be ready to post today (Monday). I was working on one piece for this blog and another piece that isn’t quite right for this blog, although it might be in the future. I did spend…
Baggage
This is the draft of a story I wrote in almost a single breath, and then submitted to a couple of literary magazines. The rejections were polite. One said that there was not enough development of the secondary characters, particularly the father, and that showing up to a party in the wrong clothing felt too…
London Letters #6: A Tale of Two Pianos
Playing piano is one of the main reasons I am surviving the pandemic. If we recognize (and if you don’t, I have some news for you) that the mind is part of the body, and so emotional health is physical health, then it shouldn’t be surprising that within a few weeks of the lockdown (so……
London Letter #5: “Somewhere Beyond the Sea”
Yeah. I’m not in London anymore. I’m not even in England anymore. But I’m still writing these because there are aspects of my trip I look back on, even at the remove of only a few days, with a warm sense of delight and tranquility and joy. And there are parts I am haunted by….
I’m Going to Use the R-Word (& it’s okay if you do, too)
On an October night, twenty seven years ago, I was attacked.On an October night, twenty seven years ago, I was victimized.On an October night, twenty seven years ago, I was sexually assaulted.On an October night, twenty seven years ago, I was raped. It’s all the same night. It’s all the same thing, isn’t it? Even…