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Crescent Dragonwagon

“My late father, Maurice Zolotow, was a Hollywood biographer, a professional freelance writer and passionate reader. Whenever I went through hard times, personally or professionally, Maurice could be counted on to tell me two things. The first was advice:  ‘Write your way out of it!’ he’d bark, directively.  But then, more thoughtfully, he’d say, ‘It’s all material, Cres. Nothing is wasted on the writer.’

“These are words I’ve lived and written by; they have allowed me to find meaning and purpose in every age, stage, experience adventure and misadventure in life. Here, I do it again, focusing on our lives, mine and yours, as writers. I give some advice; I tell some stories.

"Thanks for the title, Maurice.”

MOTHERLESS MOTHER’S  DAY: THE CORONAVIRUS EDITION

MOTHERLESS MOTHER’S DAY: THE CORONAVIRUS EDITION

By Crescent Dragonwagon 36 Comments

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MOTHER’S DAY, IN  ITS INSISTENCE ON SENTIMENT, BIOLOGY, AND CONSUMERISM, HAS ALWAYS DIMINISHED MOTHERING. AND IT’S ALWAYS BEEN CRUEL TO MANY AND REDUCTIVE TO ALL. THIS YEAR, CORONAVIRUS OFFERS US (IRONICALLY) A CHANCE TO DO BETTER. DEPENDING ON THE TENOR OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR MOTHER, “SOCIAL DISTANCING” WILL REQUIRE AT THE LEAST A CHANGE OF PLANS. BUT… Read More

Filed Under: Charlotte Zolotow, grief, Nothing Is Wasted on the Writer, writing Tagged With: celebrating Mother's Day during pandemic, Coronavirus, Covid-19, masks, Mother's Day, mothering, motherless, pandemic, social distance

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CARDIO

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CARDIO

By Crescent Dragonwagon 76 Comments

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IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH. TIL DEATH DO YOU PART. THESE WORDS, ALWAYS SOLEMN, ARE VERY DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON WHEN YOU UTTER THEM TO YOUR PARTNER: IN YOUTH, WHEN YOU ARE UN- OR LESS-TRIED? OR LATER, PERHAPS MUCH LATER, AFTER LIFE HAS BEATEN YOU UP A FEW TIMES? THIS IS MY HEARTFELT VALENTINE TO LATE-LIFE LOVE. I wrote the story… Read More

Filed Under: creativity, Fearless Writing, Nothing Is Wasted on the Writer, self-understanding, personal growth Tagged With: A-Fib, cardio, caregiving, caregiving a partner, emergency room, late-life love, scares, spouse caregiving, Valentine's

ANGELS, ARRIVING IN SNOW: A NON-CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS STORY

ANGELS, ARRIVING IN SNOW: A NON-CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS STORY

By Crescent Dragonwagon 25 Comments

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I NEVER BELIEVED IN SANTA CLAUS. NOT EVEN AS A KID, FOR REASONS I’LL MAKE CLEAR. BUT THE JURY IS STILL OUT ON ANGELS. If you want an inspirational, heartwarming story about Christmas, look elsewhere. I grew up the child of adamantly non-practicing Jews, in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, then predominantly Irish-,  Polish-, and Italian-Catholic. My mother, Charlotte Zolotow, used to… Read More

Filed Under: Fearless Writing, Nothing Is Wasted on the Writer

UNLOCK THE BLOCK… THE CREATIVE ONE. AUTUMN HAS SOME ADVICE. ARE YOU LISTENING?

UNLOCK THE BLOCK… THE CREATIVE ONE. AUTUMN HAS SOME ADVICE. ARE YOU LISTENING?

By Crescent Dragonwagon 9 Comments

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CREATIVITY — LIKE LIFE — HAS ITS SEASONS. FALL WOULD LIKE TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS. FALL WOULD LIKE TO SHOW YOU SEVERAL FAIL-PROOF WAYS TO USE ITS ENERGY TO REBOOT YOURS. Feeling blocked, stuck, stagnant? Creatively or otherwise? Fall has a cure. Every seasonal shift reminds us that time is moving on, and diems are there to be… Read More

Filed Under: creativity, Crescent Dragonwagon, Nothing Is Wasted on the Writer Tagged With: fall energy, how to be more creative, how to begin again, how to end creative block, seasons of creativity, starting over, undoing writer's block, writer's block

9 NOTES ON BUILDING A CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM, GLEANED FROM A WRITER’S  FINAL BIRTHDAY PARTY

9 NOTES ON BUILDING A CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM, GLEANED FROM A WRITER’S FINAL BIRTHDAY PARTY

By Crescent Dragonwagon 6 Comments

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THERE IS NOTHING MORE SOLITARY THAN THE ACT OF WRITING. YET, NO WORK MAKES IT TO PUBLICATION IN SOLITUDE. MY LATE MOTHER’S LAST BIRTHDAY BROUGHT THIS HOME TO ME. THRIVING IN THIS SOLITARY PROFESSION TURNS OUT TO REQUIRE AN ECOSYSTEM. HERE’S HOW TO GROW YOURS. We celebrated my mother’s 97th birthday, her next-to-last, on the front porch of the home… Read More

Filed Under: Charlotte Zolotow, creativity, Nothing Is Wasted on the Writer, self-understanding, personal growth, writing, Writing Courses

THE 7 STEPS OF WRITING ANYTHING: YOU’RE SO VAIN, I BET YOU THINK THIS POST IS ABOUT YOU

THE 7 STEPS OF WRITING ANYTHING: YOU’RE SO VAIN, I BET YOU THINK THIS POST IS ABOUT YOU

By Crescent Dragonwagon 10 Comments

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 “CLOUDS IN MY COFFEE.” I’M SURE I DIDN’T HAVE TO SAY ANY MORE THAN THAT TO FIND YOU SINGING CARLY SIMON’S, “YOU’RE SO VAIN.” THE STORY OF HOW THAT SONG GOT WRITTEN IS HOW EVERYTHING GETS WRITTEN. Remember “You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon? There’s an apocryphal story about it. Decades ago Simon was flying across country to New York… Read More

Filed Under: creativity, Fearless Writing, Nothing Is Wasted on the Writer, writing, Writing Courses Tagged With: Carly Simon, creative process, creative writing, David Geffen, how to write a hit song, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, songwriting, Warren Beatty, writing

“EXPANDING YOUR LIFE, NOT SHRINKING YOUR BODY”: FINDING MOTIVATION (AGAIN) TO WORK OUT

“EXPANDING YOUR LIFE, NOT SHRINKING YOUR BODY”: FINDING MOTIVATION (AGAIN) TO WORK OUT

By Crescent Dragonwagon 21 Comments

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WRITING TAUGHT ME ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO WORK OUT. WORKING OUT TAUGHT ME ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO WRITE. AND IT TURNS OUT YOU WRITE, OR WORK OUT,  IN YOUR MID-SIXTIES, EXACTLY THE SAME WAY YOU ALWAYS DID. AND YOU HAVE TO KEEP LEARNING THIS.  THIS TIME AROUND, A FUNKY SHOULDER, A VERY OLD CAT, AMY TAM, AND A… Read More

Filed Under: Nothing Is Wasted on the Writer Tagged With: Amy Tan, fitness, fitness over 60, working out, workout over 60

DEFIANT JOY, OR YOU HAVEN’T HAD ALL YOUR SURPRISES YET: NEW YEARS EDITION

DEFIANT JOY, OR YOU HAVEN’T HAD ALL YOUR SURPRISES YET: NEW YEARS EDITION

By Crescent Dragonwagon 17 Comments

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SOMETIMES YOU THINK YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. YOU’RE USUALLY WRONG. AND THAT’S PROBABLY NOT A BAD THING. I used to teach in a program called Artists-in-Schools, as did my longtime friend, musician Bill Haymes. I’d come into schools, a visiting writer helping students (sometimes very young, sometimes teenagers) write. Bill did the same, but with music and song-writing…. Read More

Filed Under: Nothing Is Wasted on the Writer Tagged With: bill haymes, Crescent dragonwagon, nuclear button, resilience, resistance, surprises

CHARLOTTE ZOLOTOW’S “SLEEPY BOOK” AWAKENS IN CHINA

CHARLOTTE ZOLOTOW’S “SLEEPY BOOK” AWAKENS IN CHINA

By Crescent Dragonwagon 1 Comment

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A PERSON HAS A LIFE, WITH A DEFINITE AND IRREFUTABLE BEGINNING, MIDDLE, AND END. BUT, WITH A BOOK IT’S NOT SO CLEAR. I spent a recent Sunday, improbably, working on an introduction to the forthcoming Chinese edition of a children’s book entitled Sleepy Book. Written in 1956 or ’57 and published in 1958, its author is Charlotte Zolotow, my late… Read More

Filed Under: Books, Charlotte Zolotow, Fearless Writing, Nothing Is Wasted on the Writer, Writing Courses Tagged With: children's book illustrations, children's books, literary executor, reissues, Sleepy Book

DEAR ROSALEE, ABOUT THAT WHOLE FUTURE QUESTION, & USING OR NOT USING, & SOME STUFF MY WRITER-FATHER (WHO USED TO BE A DRUNK) PASSED ON TO ME …

DEAR ROSALEE, ABOUT THAT WHOLE FUTURE QUESTION, & USING OR NOT USING, & SOME STUFF MY WRITER-FATHER (WHO USED TO BE A DRUNK) PASSED ON TO ME …

By Crescent Dragonwagon 7 Comments

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SOMETIMES YOU JUST DON’T KNOW HOW IT’S GOING TO COME OUT. OR EVEN IF IT WILL. BUT IF YOU HANG IN THERE ANYWAY, TRANSFORMATION IS POSSIBLE. IN FACT, IT MIGHT BE ON ITS WAY TO YOU RIGHT NOW, HERE’S WHAT MY EDGY, ALCOHOLIC, WRITER FATHER – WHO LATER SOBERED UP – TAUGHT ME ABOUT THIS. About three years ago, a… Read More

Filed Under: Fearless Writing, Maurice Zolotow, Nothing Is Wasted on the Writer Tagged With: AA, daughter, father, Los Angeles, Maurice Zolotow, sobriety, transformation, writing

HOW TO GET GOOD AT ANYTHING. YES, IT’S THAT SIMPLE. THAT HARD.

HOW TO GET GOOD AT ANYTHING. YES, IT’S THAT SIMPLE. THAT HARD.

By Crescent Dragonwagon 6 Comments

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How do people get good at things? Especially, those people who are astoundingly good at what they do — how on earth do they get that way? No matter who your favorite musicians are (or writers, athletes, actors, artists, cooks), , you can bet they do three things. These are things that anyone, who is good at anything, does, regardless of what… Read More

Filed Under: Nothing Is Wasted on the Writer Tagged With: Annie Lamott, building a writing practice, Ernest Hemingway, Fearless Writing, Julia Cameron, performance, practice, practice makes practice, rehearsal, writing, writing practice

BEANBLOSSOM, CAT OF MY HEART, TEACHES ME ABOUT BECOMING LOVABLE

BEANBLOSSOM, CAT OF MY HEART, TEACHES ME ABOUT BECOMING LOVABLE

By Crescent Dragonwagon 14 Comments

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HOW DO WE BECOME LOVABLE, AS IN, ABLE TO GIVE AND RECEIVE LOVE? SOMETIMES, WE LEARN FROM CATS. OR A CAT, PARTICULARLY BELOVED. IN MY CASE, THAT WAS BEANBLOSSOM. The other morning, I was making breakfast. I cracked two eggs for an omelette, into a small stainless steel bowl. Beating them with a fork, hearing that distinctive musical rhythmic metal-on-metal clang,… Read More

Filed Under: Nothing Is Wasted on the Writer

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Read Aloud with Crescent and Mark

NOT A LITTLE MONKEY, by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrted by Michelle Chessaree

"So, the little girl climbed into the big waste-basket and waited." ' Oh no,' said her mother, ' we don't want to throw you away.'"There are many ways to express love and the need for attention. Here, a busy mother and her just-a-bit naughty little girl tease each other affectionately — the little girl making her point without even uttering a word.That's today's story time — read aloud by the author's daughter at Crescent Dragonwagon's Writing, Cooking, & Workshops, with Mark Graff's "text support" and discussion."Just right for two-to-fours, the humor of this true-to-life story of a mischievous little girl who blocks her mother's attempts to clean house will elicit giggles from the lollipop set." Kirkus Reviews

Posted by Crescent Dragonwagon's Writing, Cooking, & Workshops on Thursday, June 4, 2020

Read Aloud with Crescent

Read Aloud with Crescent

The Washington Post on Crescent’s Lentil Soup Recipe

The Washington Post on Crescent’s Lentil Soup Recipe

Greek Lentil Soup with Spinach and Lemon, photograph by Tom McCorkle, Washington Post

March Offering

March Offering

Bean By Bean Cookbooks

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Dinner with Dragonwagon

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A NAPPA Gold Winner
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"... like a warm luminescent blanket at bedtime... softly lulling." -- New York Times


"(With) weary animals, Dragonwagon offers an “alphabet of ways to sleep,” smoothly working in some alliteration..."
- Publishers Weekly (starred review)


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read aloud with Crescent Dragonwagon

Until Just Moistened

Until Just Moistened

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