7.4.20

Inspiration & Perspiration:Danielle Trussoni’s Newsletter July 4th, 2020 “Genius is 1 Percent Inspiration and 99 Percent Perspiration.”– Thomas Edison If you haven’t heard the fireworks yet, they are coming tonight. I’m preparing for a huge light show over the Hudson River, which I will be watching from my front porch. I live in a Victorian era house on a bluff overlooking the Hudson. There is a …

6.27.20

Inspiration & Perspiration:Danielle Trussoni’s Newsletter June 27th, 2020 “Genius is 1 Percent Inspiration and 99 Percent Perspiration.”– Thomas Edison  It has been a busy and productive week in my writing cave. I began my week with the students of The Newport MFA, Salve Regina’s Low Residency MFA program, where I am a member of the faculty. It is a wonderful program with talented writers. In normal …

6.20.20

Inspiration & Perspiration:Danielle Trussoni’s Newsletter June 20th, 2020 “Genius is 1 Percent Inspiration and 99 Percent Perspiration.”– Thomas Edison  Greetings from the Writing Cave, where I have been sequestered all week working on my new novel. Writing a novel can feel extremely isolating. And writing a novel now, when we are staying home and unable to meet friends for dinner (or even go down to the neighborhood …

6.13.20

Inspiration & Perspiration:Danielle Trussoni’s Newsletter June 13th, 2020 “Genius is 1 Percent Inspiration and 99 Percent Perspiration.”– Thomas Edison  Good morning from the writing cave, where I am surrounded by handwritten pages. I’ve mentioned it here before, but I have begun to write the first drafts of my novels longhand. It began with my memoir, The Fortress, which was giving me trouble. I would sit at the …

6.6.20

Inspiration & Perspiration:Danielle Trussoni’s Newsletter June 6th, 2020 “Genius is 1 Percent Inspiration and 99 Percent Perspiration.”– Thomas Edison  Good afternoon from the writing cave! I’m getting a late start today for a number of reasons, but mostly because there is a lot going on around here. To begin with, my David Austin roses are blooming! I couldn’t tear myself away from them today. When I …

5.30.20

Inspiration & Perspiration:Danielle Trussoni’s Newsletter May 30th, 2020 “Genius is 1 Percent Inspiration and 99 Percent Perspiration.”– Thomas Edison  Happy Saturday from the writing cave, where I have been drinking coffee and working on my new novel. I am at that stage of writing when every day brings a new and surprising realization. One day I think that I have started working on a masterpiece. The …

5.23.20

Inspiration & Perspiration:Danielle Trussoni’s Newsletter May 23rd, 2020 “Genius is 1 Percent Inspiration and 99 Percent Perspiration.”– Thomas Edison  Good morning from the writing cave, where I am taking the morning to get organized. I’ve gone through the pages of the new novel I’m working on and put them in an outline form, I’ve collected dirty coffee cups and water glasses from my desk, and now …

5.16.20

Inspiration & Perspiration:Danielle Trussoni’s Newsletter May 16th, 2020 “Genius is 1 Percent Inspiration and 99 Percent Perspiration.”– Thomas Edison  Hello from the valley of rainbows! My house is on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River, and every year at this time we are inundated with rainbows. Short, heavy showers punctuated by bright sunshine conspire to create double, sometimes triple rainbows over the river. Here we are …

5.9.20

Inspiration & Perspiration:Danielle Trussoni’s Newsletter May 9th, 2020 “Genius is 1 Percent Inspiration and 99 Percent Perspiration.”– Thomas Edison Good afternoon! It has been another exciting week here in the writing cave! This week, the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction was announced. I was the chair jurist, and so that means for the past year, the jury (me and four others) read dozens and dozens of books, …

5.2.20

Inspiration & Perspiration:Danielle Trussoni’s Newsletter May 2nd, 2020 “Genius is 1 Percent Inspiration and 99 Percent Perspiration.”– Thomas Edison  Good morning from the writing cave, where I am basking in the first real day of spring. The sun is out, the air is warm, and I’ve even opened a window to birdsong. TS Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month, but this year it really …