Do you want to grow as a writer, but don’t know the next steps to take? Do you have great ideas, but they never sound as powerful on the page as they do in your head? Do you love to write, but feel stuck as a writer? Do you want to get published, but don’t know where to begin?…
I said something on Twitter the other day that made me stop and think. And made others stop and think. It was this: “Write bravely. Use up all those good ideas now, don’t save them. There will be more. Art comes from abundance.” The idea came in response to Glennon Doyle Melton’s post on “Forever Tries“; she…
I don’t write much about my classes or about being a professor or about my life at an academic institution. Some of that is because I’ve never been comfortable being called “Professor”-anything and some of that is because the stories from my classroom are just that—from my classroom and not from my “real” life. Or…
I got rejected this week. It was an article, a story I was a really proud of, submitted to a prestigious magazine where a couple of my friends have been published recently. I’d polished the prose, even had someone look it over before I sent it in, only to receive a not-unfamiliar response. “Thank you…
Maybe you grew up watching Disney movies like I did. We would sit breathless watching Ariel sign away her voice to the sea witch in “The Little Mermaid.” Eyes glued to the TV, we watched to see if the prince would “kiss the girl” even though she was mute. Now, on the other edge…
I have been writing, now, for decades. It started back in elementary school, when we were given blank books in second grade, books that were pure white, inside and out. The covers, the pages, the seams of the binding—all of it, whiter than winter clouds. There were no lines, no rules. Just space. For a…
I am so sick of fame and fortune. Sigh… You may wonder what in the world I’m talking about since I’m not famous. Most likely you don’t know me. Not even everyone in my writing group, the Redbud Writers Guild, knows me. And as for fortune, I’m sure I would be considered fabulously wealthy if…
I’ll never forget my first college writing class. My professor paced back and forth in front of us with his hands clasped behind his back. He stopped, faced us and declared: “The best writers write about what they know.” That statement, along with hefty required doses of E.B. White, helped me understand the power of…
I am “new” to the writing world. Whatever that means. I have been writing, of course, since I was a kid and my notebooks from childhood and my wobbly teen years are piled up in a cupboard in my dining room of all places. Now, I have scribbled notes and ideas everywhere and I have…
Sometimes I think of faith as a void and then I will immediately backtrack over my thoughts with what I have been told the answer is. I suppose that if faith is the size of a mustard seed, then it’s possible that it is so small that it’s imperceptible until it springs a bud. In…
The moment is seared into my brain, not unlike a branding iron on a young calf. It was November 2010. Although, actually, it had started the year before at a conference for youth workers… “Don’t waste your words,” the speaker had uttered in that dramatic-almost-whisper that speakers do to make a point. “You have experiences from…
“I think God is calling me to write a book.” She’s sheepish with the news, wondering what I think of the idea. But I need backstory, so my friend recounts how on three separate occasions, she’s been told by three separate people (all strangers) to write a book. Who am I to argue with that,…
It was a perfect June night to launch a novel. Full guest list – check. Plenty of books – check. Fancy pen – check Flowers, music, opera cakes and BUZZZZ. After months of planning, my baby was ready to be delivered into the hands of her new parents and they were waiting at the…
I noticed something interesting as we made our way through New Orlean’s restaurant scene last spring, and it’s transforming the way I think about my writing career: the highest rated restaurants were known for one good dish. New Orleans is an old city, and many of the highly rated dining establishments have been around for…