Lisa Shanahan

Author of Murder by the Book

Reader, Should You Get an MFA in Creative Writing?

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In Jane Eyre, one of my favorite novels, Jane gives us the lowdown on Mr. Rochester quite simply: “Reader, I married him.” Her momentous life decision didn’t take many words to describe once she’d made up her mind. This year I had a big life decision to make and felt how fitting to pay homage to Jane’s decisiveness: Reader, I’m Getting an MFA. Should You? LEARN MORE

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Why Am I Writing My Best Ideas on Scraps of Paper? How to access ideas in your “deep” mind.

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Photo: Shutterstock

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal describing the Morgan Library & Museum’s exhibition in New York of Emily Dickinson’s handwritten fascicles and poetry scraps gave me pause. I pictured the great poetess, as if in a film, in her Amherst home gathering up the closest scrap of “coarse brown wrapping paper” to write down an idea that had sprung to mind. LEARN MORE

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A Mother-Daughter Story: Conversations Over Breakfast in L.A.

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Photo: Ryan McGuire/Gratisography

My daughter, who lives in L.A. and works in the film and TV industry, is connected like a made guy. She knows all the cool places to go, all the cool places to eat, all the cool places to stay without spending wads of cash. She’s a cool, sweet kid, more interested in unearthing cool stuff than in being cool, if you know what I mean. And the kid has taste not only in highbrow stuff, but in fine lowbrow stuff. LEARN MORE

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