Category Archives: writing

The Path of Creation

Posted on 15. October 2011 by Nancy Pinard

This morning I came across this letter from Martha Graham  to Agnes DeMille, both dancers that left a long trail of amazing choreography, works which are not only still being performed, but which arguably form the backbone of  some dance companies’ repertoire. A Letter … Continue reading →

Posted in Agnes DeMille, Darwin, Einstein, genius, innovation, making art, Martha Graham, reading, writing | 2 Comments

Adventures in Munich

Posted on 24. September 2011 by Nancy Pinard

Einstein spent his childhood from age one to fifteen in Munich, though the Munich of today is a reconstruction of the city, thanks to Munich being the Nazi headquarters and therefore the target of Allied bombs in WWII. When it … Continue reading →

Posted in Einstein, Luitpold Gymnasium, Munich, Nazi headquarters, Oktoberfest, Research methods, Sendlinger Tor, writing | Leave a comment

The Einstein Tour Part I, Lake Como

Posted on 15. September 2011 by Nancy Pinard

My husband and I arrived in Milan yesterday after the (for me) sleepless overnight flight that is penance for the luxury of European travel, meaning no taxi fare seemed too high if it meant we might settle in at our … Continue reading →

Posted in Bellagio, Einstein, Generating Fiction from History and/or Fact, historical fiction, Italy, Lake Como, Mileva Maric, reading, Research methods, Tremezzo, Varenna, writing | 1 Comment

The Paper Garden

Posted on 18. August 2011 by Nancy Pinard

I have just uncovered that greatest of all delights, a book that runs so close to my vein that I look forward to going to bed at night so I can dip into it.  The book is The Paper Garden:  … Continue reading →

Posted in Darwin, Einstein, making art, Mileva Maric, Molly Peacock, reading, Shadow Dancing, The Paper Garden, writing | 3 Comments

How much of this is true?

Posted on 11. August 2011 by Nancy Pinard

For the second time since I began writing fictional biography, someone said, “But how am I to know what’s true?”  My answer is that the scenes are made up, the dialogue, the emotional movement, but the settings are as real … Continue reading →

Posted in Auguste Forel, Darwin, Einstein, Fictional biography, fictional truth, Generating Fiction from History and/or Fact, historical fiction, Milos Maric, reading, Serbia, Stein am Rhein, writing | 2 Comments

An Exercise in Point-of-View

Posted on 8. June 2011 by Nancy Pinard

I’m working on a scene where it’s hard to understand Einstein’s behavior.  It’s mid-July, 1901, and Mileva is about to re-sit her exams at the Polytech, having failed them the summer before.  It’s her last chance to pass, and, oh-my-god, … Continue reading →

Posted in Einstein, family members, Fictional biography, historical fiction, Mettmenstetten, Mileva Maric, Pauline Einstein, point of view, Serbia, Switzerland, writing | 3 Comments

Time Out for History

Posted on 2. May 2011 by Nancy Pinard

Is it alright, I ask myself, to take a day off writing historical fiction to experience history unfolding?   The fact that I ask that question gives you a clue to how OC I can be about writing.  Today, the day … Continue reading →

Posted in 9/11, anthrax, Colin Powell, death, George W. Bush, historical fiction, Laura Bush, Mohammad ElBaradei, reading, Saddam Hussein, Tariq Aziz, Usama Bin Ladin, Weapons of Mass Destruction, World Trade Center, writing | 3 Comments

My Reading of Fictional Biographies

Posted on 25. April 2011 by Nancy Pinard

One of the ways writers make decisions is to read similar work by other authors.  I have recently begun to check out fictional biographies from Dayton’s three library systems, to see how other writers have handled some of the problems.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Darwin, Diego Rivera, Einstein, Fictional biography, fictional truth, Flower Festival: Feast of Santa Anita, historical fiction, Jim Shepard, Max Phillips, reading, The Artist's Wife, The Writer's Notebook: Craft Essays from Tin House, writing | 2 Comments

The Wonders of Google Maps

Posted on 22. February 2011 by Nancy Pinard

I’ve written before about what a handicap it is to write about a setting I’ve never visited.  I can read descriptions in books–and in the case of Albert Einstein, some of the biographers are fine writers who provide me with … Continue reading →

Posted in Einstein, family members, Google Maps, Mettmenstetten, reading, Research methods, Switzerland, writing | Leave a comment

German Jewish Family Values

Posted on 15. February 2011 by Nancy Pinard

Additional research–my thanks to Marion Kaplan for her book The Making of the Jewish Middle Class–reveals that as laws in Germany allowed Jews freedom to join the professions and become upwardly mobile, the German ideals of cleanliness entered the Jewish … Continue reading →

Posted in Marion Kaplan, Mileva Maric, Pauline Einstein, reading, Research methods, Serbia, writing | Leave a comment