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The Scream Inside Your Head
Over the years I've heard dozens of stories of writers who have gone down a related career path only to realize they had wandered off course from a deeper calling. Fiction writers who became reporters.Poets working as public relations officers. Memoirists writing copy...
The best time to write
This is the best time of year to write. It's also the worst time to try to be productive. You wonder where that burst of energy went That had you rolling up your sleeves Just a few months ago. You think, I should be working on my project. You think, I should be more...
Write This Down
Years ago, I had a tiny black dog with a few black spots and enormous ears. Every once in a while, she'd stop dead in her tracks, raise her ears like antennae, and stare into the distance. "She's getting messages from the mothership," my husband would say. Writing can...
Preparing for Mondays
For years I spent Sundays preparing for Mondays, Paying bills and washing clothes, Stocking up on cooking supplies So I could begin my week with A bang. Sundays mornings, I attended the Church of Trader Joe’s Picking out organic produce. I had my staples: A bag...
WRITING THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC
How goes your work? Writing through the pandemic When life is heavier than usual, Requires more planning, more commitment. You might be challenged by too much solitude Or perhaps not enough. Either way, I see you adapt, And it inspires me. You remake...
Emulating Emily Rapp
Steal Like an Artist. That was the title of Austin Kleon's first book. It's a reference to Pablo Picasso's famous advice, "Lesser artists borrow; great artists steal." During the summer reading course, when we studied memoirs by Black authors, we chucked the idea of...
Return to Writing
Tell me if this has ever happened to you. You create an intention to commit to daily writing practice or that bigger project that you swore would be your priority. You take off like a jack rabbit for a few weeks or even a few months, but then you start to drift...
Protect Your Mind
There is revolution in the streets And a madman in the White House. A pandemic/a plague And the planet slowly burns. You cannot close your eyes to any of it. And yet, you must turn away. For an hour or two. Preferably in the morning, Though dusk is good too. You must...
Come on, Little Brain
Over the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to speak with some of you about your writing. Here are a few comments I've heard on repeat: I keep coming back to this idea.I am haunted by this story. I hear this voice in my head, and it won't...
Transformation of Memoir, Part III
This is the third and last post in this series about memoir. I would love to know if it has sparked any ideas for your own work and/or if the questions I’ve posed were useful. Feel free to hit reply, and let me know. As I shared a few weeks ago, I started...
READY TO COMMIT TO
YOUR WRITING?
READY TO COMMIT TO
YOUR WRITING?
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Decision Guide to Starting Your Path Home.