The Elusive Mother Writer
Before having my son, I was terrified that somehow crossing the threshold from individual into the territory of mother would somehow...
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A Writing Community: Why You Need One & How to Build It
The first writer's group I belonged to formed right after I graduated from my MFA in creative writing at California College of the Arts....
BIG, EXCITING PUBLISHING NEWS!
Yes, I used all caps there. Why? Because I have some great big book news that is a long time coming. Drum roll please . . . My first...
Finding the Right Readers.
After I finished writing my second novel, my mother was the first person to read the whole thing through. “What’d you think?” I asked...
Plane Tickets & Invisibility Cloaks
In college, when I first started traveling without my family, I discovered the sensual joy of being totally anonymous and unseen in a new...
Love Letter to 2019
For the past twelve years, I have been asking all my amazing friends each December to write a love letter to the year ahead, reflecting...
Homeward Bound
With the winter holidays blowing into our lives in a swirl of tinsel, yankee swaps, and fruit cake over the next few weeks, I tend to...
What are you willing to sacrifice?
This past week I attended opening night of the Massachusetts Conference for Women to see keynote speakers Elizabeth Gilbert, Franchesca...
Never Edit Alone (or why you need an editor).
Social media writing groups are inundated with posts by excited writers exclaiming that they have written a draft of a novel and are now...
The Book Run.
One of my favorite physical activities is trail running. I like the simplicity: trail shoes, dog, and open woods. I love the focus it...
Gratitude for these words.
I am grateful for these words that spiral through me. The ones that have always been there. When I read my own writing, I worry that...
You are responsible for this.
I have been thinking a lot lately about responsibility. About who and what we are each responsible for in our lives. There are many...
Writer's Block: A Myth or Reality?
I am going to say something controversial here: I don’t believe in writer’s block. There you go. I said it. It’s something I’ve believed...
The Books We Steal
One day in middle school I noticed a book sitting on my mom’s dresser amidst the crumpled receipts, loose change, and half-empty Advil...
Will you read my novel?
I was asked recently what my goals were for publishing my novel and after thinking briefly about it, I said, "to have people read it." It...
Re-Claiming the Witch.
I just watched the “Witches of Eastwick,” a 1987 movie based off the John Updike novel (a read I really enjoyed). In the movie, Jack...
The Long Winding Road to Not Getting Published (yet.)
On my 23rd birthday, I woke up in California--only a month and a half into my stint living across the country from all my family and...
Permission to Write: One Writer's Beginnings
"Mr. Allen played the guitar and said he had published articles and had a friend who was eaten by an alligator and immediately he was my...