honest writing

A collection of 21 posts

245

A Dialog with My Inner Writer

Since May, I have been working through the exercises in Julia Cameron’s The Right to Write. I wish that I had made it a regular practice to post some of my entries (the way I did with A Year in the Life), but I never got started and then

authors

My Visit to the Emily Dickinson House, and a Review

Over a year ago, reading Lives Like Loaded Guns planted the idea in my head that I would like to visit Emily Dickinson’s home in Amherst. A week and a half ago, I made that idea a reality. It is a rare experience when one can read a book,

honest writing

On the End of 100 Happy Days

I hope that I still have many happy days to come, but this last weekend marked the official end of my participation in the #100happydays meme. The meme challenges you to take one picture a day of something that makes you happy, and post it to your network of choice

honest writing

Time for Writing

“The lies we tell ourselves about writing and time are all connected to envy, to the fairy tale notion that there are others whose lives are simpler, better funded, more conducive to writing than our own. “The trick to finding writing time is to make writing time in the life

blogging

Creative Process Blog Tour

I read about a “Creative Process Blog Tour” over at Susan Perry’s blog, wherein different creative types are answering a set of questions about their process in their blogs. (Susan Perry is author of Writing in Flow, although I first discovered her through Loving in Flow, which I read

freelancing

Some Thoughts on Money and Writing

In November, I clipped this piece of writing advice from Writer’s Digest (my apologies that I didn’t also clip the issue date — if anyone recognizes it, I’m happy to attribute.) I listened to my mom. She once told me to always live a little outside of my

6

A Year in the Life, Week 40: First You Have to Teach a Lesson

This week’s writing exercise in A Year in the Life prompted me to write about a time that “learning a lesson” was somehow connected to a secret that you kept. I wrote about learning to play guitar when I was 22. Perhaps I wanted to learn guitar since those

fiction

"New Adult" Literature and No-Good Writing Advice

Last week, I was reading “What’s New About New Adult?” in the January/February issue of Horn Book. The article is about the rise of “New Adult” literature, a sub-genre of Young Adult (or a sub-genre of adult) that focuses on characters in their late teens or early twenties.

6

A Year in the Life, Week 36: Admonitions

This week’s A Year in the Life prompt asked me to reflect upon an admonition I remember hearing in my life. From my mom: “Don’t open the door for or go with anyone except Grandma, Amy, or Susan–even if they say I’m hurt or dead.” This

6

A Year in the Life, Week 35: To Thine Own Self Be True

This week’s A Year In the Life exercise asked me to write a question I received often, and to answer it in various ways. I was definitely a very late bloomer when it came to romance (first kiss? 28), and for a long time, people (relatives, mainly) were waiting

authors

Writing Book Reviews in the Age without Boundaries

As is my habit on Sunday nights, last night I got caught up on my book-review writing. My Goodreads account is connected to my Twitter, so this morning I found that M.D. Waters had “favorited” the tweet that linked back to my review of her book, Archetype. The review

A Year in the Life

A Year in the Life: Week 3 - Letter to a Columnist

This week, the writing exercise from A Year in the Life was to write a letter to a columnist giving “advice” about something you’ve been through. Since so many people seem preoccupied with finding “the one,” I wrote about how my romantic life blossomed after I’d decided to

blogging

My Last Day of One Job, Embarking on Another

Yesterday was my last official day as Teen Services Librarian for the Marshall-Lyon County Library. My heart is sort of breaking over it–I loved that job so much, but it was a two-hour commute, one way, once a week. I’m still processing all of that, and might blog

honest writing

Writing My Way Toward Wholeness

Last weekend, I had the good fortune to do something I haven’t done since I was a teen — attend a writing retreat. The retreat to mark my long absence from writers retreats, workshops, and conferences was Writing Our Way Toward Wholeness, an exploration of writing as a spiritual practice.

blogging

The Book is Here ... but What if They Don't Like It?

I got my box of contributor copies of Hungering and Thirsting for Justice in the mail yesterday, so I promptly sent an email to all the friends and associates I thought might be interested in knowing about it. Interest was especially piqued amongst those who know me mostly in a

blogging

Why I Write: Because I'm Not Always Brave

Last night, I posted Ask Any Scientist! to Young Adult Catholics. The post argues against using “science” as a justification of homophobia. I knew as I was conceiving of, writing, and publishing the post that I was more likely to get flamed for it than to get support, as the

benefits of writing

Writing Makes me Cry

. . . and I consider that a good thing. I’m not always the greatest at being in touch with my emotions, which usually comes back to bite me. I went for a period of about five years in my life when nothing could make me cry, no matter how sad I

blogging

On Publishing, the Internet, and Self Googling

I recently self-Googled in an attempt to see if any of my Demand Studios articles had been published. I didn’t find any of them yet, but self-Googling proved to be an enlightening experience, as always. Because I have a unique name, and because I’ve had a fairly public

critiques

Step One, Intimacy; Step Two, Distance

I’d like to follow up on yesterday’s post about the vulnerability of putting a lot of “yourself” into your writing. I think that the blurred boundary between self and characters during the writing process is incredibly beneficial. Why would you keep returning to these characters again and again

honest writing

Your Words, Your Soul

I was never  one of those writers who was shy about sharing my work. I knew I was a good writer, and I wanted other people to know it, too. Perhaps it was because fantasy was the first genre I wrote in seriously; you can write about yourself via fantasy

BiWomen

Let's Get Personal

The essay I wrote for Bi-Women, “Kids Keep me Kloseted,” will be published in the December newsletter and possibly online. The irony that I’m publishing a piece about being closeted is not lost on me. As I was polishing the article earlier this week, I had a quick moment