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Meet Tara Ochs, the “voice” of The Conditions of Love
As a writer I’m preoccupied by “voice” — the diction, syntax, and emotional registers of my characters.
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Dinner with friends
Writers are often asked where they get their ideas, and that’s a good damn question.
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Men respond to The Conditions of Love
People sometimes ask me who I write for. Do I have an ideal reader in mind while I’m writing? The question always surprises me.
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Chaos in the Beginning
Sitting down to write today, I have a thought: art begins in chaos.
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Amazon, Hachette, Censorship, the Future of Books, and Me
My parents gave me my first experience of censorship.
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On Enchantment and My Writing
Enchantment. I hope the word sends a thrill up your spine! When was the last time your conversation turned to enchantment? Who talks about enchantment these days? That may be one of the reasons it interests me.
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The Five Best Questions To Ask a Writer
Since May and the publication of the paperback edition of The Conditions of Love, I’ve been on the road visiting bookstores and talking to readers.
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Five motivational techniques that worked for me — my interview on the Writer's Relief blog
When I was first starting out as a poet, I discovered Writer's Relief.
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The Conditions of Love can now be read in paperback!
Today is the official publication date of the paperback edition of The Conditions of Love.
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The Civilizing Effect / Finding Refuge
The Vermont College of Fine Arts Alumni Magazine asked me to contribute an article about “Life after the MFA” for its Winter 2014 issue.
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Exchanging devotion
The subject line of an email caught my attention last month: Devotional Exchange.
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Remedies for the Evil Eye
Around Valentine’s Day this year, I received several emails of the chain letter variety asking me to forward a cheery aphorism to five friends in exchange for the beneficence of good luck.
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On the Question of Otherness
Of late I’ve been thinking about how the past influences us, sometimes even haunts us.
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The Conditions of Love - THE MOVIE!
Marshal Zeringue recently asked me to "dreamcast" my thoughts about a movie version of The Conditions of Love.
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On Writing Blogs
Dear Esteemed Friends and Curious Visitors:
Sorry to be so long away! My apologies if you’ve visited this site and found nothing new.
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My Social Media Dilemma
Right from the start of my writing life I fell into the habit of writing everything out in long-hand on a yellow legal pad using a black Pilot pen.
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The Dark Side of the 50’s, Suffering, and a Writer’s Education: Marshal Zeringue’s The Page 69 Test
Marshal McLuhan, last century’s great communication theorist, declared that if you turn to page 69 in a book and like it, you’ll like the entire book. It’s a fascinating concept, one Marshal Zeringue has used for his blog called The Page 69 Test.