Posts by Lee Martin
A Memory of My Mother
In honor of all mothers on Mother’s Day, I offer this section from my new memoir, Gone the Hard Road. On one of the last visits that I made to the nursing home when my mother still had language, she told a fantastic story about just getting back from Florida where she’d been at…
Read MoreFail Better: The Importance of Falling Short
The lawnmower saga from last week continues. My neighbor said he thought it would be a good idea if I mowed my lawn with his zero-turn before I committed to buying one. My neighbor is a smart man. I later told him I thought my mowing was a success because, one, I didn’t damage his…
Read MoreLawn Mowing and the Fictive Dream
Cathy claims it’s time we had a riding lawn mower. I’ve been hesitant. Moving away from my walk-behind feels like a concession to the advancing years. Damn it, if I could use that walk-behind last week, I can use it again this week. Cathy says, “What if something happens to you? My knee won’t let…
Read MoreWriters Helping Writers: The Virtual Book Tour
Cathy and I went to Home Depot twice this weekend, hoping to get some answers to questions we had about a riding lawnmower we were interested in buying—simple questions, really, like, “How do you change the oil?” On our first attempt, we asked for assistance that never came, so we gave up and left. Today,…
Read MoreInciting Episodes and Significant Actions
Cathy and I went to the zoo yesterday. On the way, we went to Menards to exchange some landscape lights that had stopped working. Then we stopped at McDonald’s so Cathy could get a sweet tea. We parked in the lot at the zoo and then walked to the entrance and scanned our tickets. Easy…
Read MoreTo See What You Couldn’t See Then
Another Easter Sunday has come, and, again, I’m thinking of my mother. I’ve written often of my years between third grade and high school when we lived in Oak Forest, a southern suburb of Chicago. We traveled back to our downstate farm some weekends, and on holidays, and in the summers. We were always on…
Read MoreCutting, Filling, Adding: Tips for Revision
Yesterday, I fired up the mower and gave our lawn the first cut of the season, thereby ending a winter of having nary a thought about the dormant grass. As I mowed, I took note of a dandelion or two, a bit of clover, and broadleaf—intruders each and every one. I also noted a bare…
Read MoreTry Again: Suggestions for Dealing With Rejection
I’ve always loved the sport of basketball, so this time of year—NCAA tournament time—is one I savor. I was especially looking forward to it this year because my beloved University of Illinois was a number one seed and many people’s pick to get to the championship game. Alas, number eight seed, Loyola of Chicago, upset…
Read MoreIt’s Time: Prose and the Ticking Clock
Once again, we’ve reached the season for setting our clocks forward an hour and entering daylight saving time. Just like that, we jump ahead with that hour of our lives to be recovered in the autumn when we go back to standard time. This jump ahead, which brings us longer light, isn’t without its challenges.…
Read MoreIrony as Plot Strategy
Last week, along with my students, I was thinking about irony and how it can often be a useful strategy in constructing plots. Here, then, is an example from my forthcoming memoir, Gone the Hard Road, offered up here in hopes of being useful to anyone wishing to add resonance to their narratives. One day,…
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