Bettina Caluori's Online Office

Writing reminds me of the work of a landscape architect creating the structure of a garden. People know how to move through gardens....

For the pandemic, I have a desk in front of an upstairs window so that during videoconferences I don’t have shadowy Frankenstein eye...

When motivation to write is in short supply, I recommend feeling grouchy about it. I suggest allowing authentic negativity to swell...

According to a certain notion about poets—I don’t know whether to call it a stereotype, a romanticized idea, or a sometimes-accurate...

Everyone loves a good plot. I do, too. It’s thrilling when a character lives at a cliffhanger pace. But plot can begin to dominate...

One Thanksgiving weekend I was on an airplane returning from my sister’s home in Chicago with a bag full of students’ essays to read on...

To write people often think they need long stretches of time and ideal conditions, but I have found I can make the most of those...

Some people cook elaborate dinners, using practically all the pots and dishes, and after they fill up the sink with everything dirty and...

“Way to get a piece of it!” A father shouted this at his daughter from the sidelines of a girls’ softball game after she struck out but...

I always understood something of my students’ feelings about the difficulty of writing. As a student, when I read composition scholar...

First, I appreciate grammatically correct writing. I believe in knowing the rules of professional presentation. I don’t think, however,...