Blog
Conscious Writing Journeys ~ Charla Gabert: “I took this pain and made something beautiful out of it.”
Today’s interview finds me chatting with Charla Gabert who, like Joanne Cooper, made her way back to writing by way of art; in Charla’s case, mosaics. As a child, Charla “disappeared into books,” so it was only natural that she would write poems and stories and work...
Conscious Writing Journeys ~ Joanne Cooper: “Journals were a lifeline for me.”
Welcome back to the Conscious Writing Journeys interview series. In today’s interview I speak with Joanne Cooper, a woman whose life experiences led her to writing as part of her larger purpose. Joanne Cooper is so in tune with her intuition that serendipity, which...
Conscious Writing Journeys ~ Diedre Badejo: “I am not going to let you define me.”
Ready for a healing? Diedre Badejo’s steady voice and infectious laugh pull you out of your head and into your heart as she transports you to a sense of well-being in the same way a healing returns you to truth. Not surprising, given that Diedre settles for nothing...
Conscious Writing Interview ~ Pamela Sampel: “I’m doing it anyway, dammit!”
Talking to Pamela Sampel is nothing short of a spiritual experience, so it’s no wonder that our conversation about conscious writing led to talk about the divine. “The divine in me is asking to be revealed,” she says about her writing experience. For Pamela, writing...
Breaking the Silence: Perfectionism Stops Here
For the past several days I have wanted to post something on Facebook that speaks out against racism and bigotry. And yet, I could not find my voice. True, I had an unusually busy workweek (or so I told myself). I hit the ground running Monday morning working on...
The Best American Essays: Submit Your 2016 Online Publications
As this year draws to a close, I want to share with you a Best American Essays submission tip that I first learned from my mentor Sonya Huber. If you’re not yet familiar with The Best American Essays series, you are in for a treat. Published annually since 1986, each...
What’s Your Writing Word for 2017?
Some years ago I ditched New Year’s resolutions, which felt more like giving up something for Lent—i.e., depriving myself of something I wanted—than evolving myself into the person I wanted to become. In place of making a resolution, I began choosing a “word of the...
Writing Sisterhood! Come Join Us!
Since the election here in the U.S. two weeks ago, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be part of a writing sisterhood--to be part of a collective voice for change in a culture that is in the grip of a backlash. A cultural backlash is, of course, a violent...
Free Women’s Writing Workshop: Raise Your Voice!
Hello, writing sister! The mums are in bloom here in Central Virginia. Their earthy scent brings to mind sweaters and scarves and school. I have always loved school. Not the mundane parts—those horrid clicks and grades and rules—but the learning parts....
The VIDA Count: Lifting Women’s Voices
Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie VIDA: Women in the Literary Arts is an organization that works for...
The Voice of Nikki Giovanni
You have a voice, use it. Never let anybody take your voice away from you. Nikki Giovanni I’ve been sick this past week with a cold (or whatever’s going around Lynchburg—I’m still sneezing a week later!). Not too many years ago, I would have kept right on...
What Metaphor Do You See in This LIVE Eagles’ Nest?
photo © 2016 American Eagle Foundation, EAGLES.ORG I was going to write this week’s blog about the universal truth in memoir writing—how the more specific we are in telling our stories, the more our writing transcends the personal and strikes a universal chord....
International Women’s Day: Your Voice Is a Human Right
The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights. Gloria Steinem As I write this, the world celebrates International Women’s Day. What is...
Her Imprint: A Memoir Essay
Thank you for the many heartfelt emails and messages you sent to me after I published my newsletter last week for the first time since my “mastectomy retreat.” (A phrase I’m stealing from the brilliant wordsmith Lisa Hadden!) How grateful I am for this...
On Writing and Healing
Maybe everyone needs to retreat once in a while, or you don’t know who you are or what you’ve become. Claire Dederer Where’ve I been these many months? I’ve been writing and healing from a mastectomy. Last summer I was diagnosed with breast cancer in my...
Summer Resources for Women Writers
Summer is right around the corner here in the northern hemisphere, and with summer come inevitable changes in schedules. I’m gearing up to travel from Virginia to California for my brother’s wedding, where I will visit with friends and family until the end of...
A Case for Resubmitting Your Work
A couple of years ago, I attended a panel of editors of literary journals at AWP. The panel was organized by VIDA: Women in the Literary Arts to discuss the implications of TheVIDA Count— the disparaging ratio of women to men published in literary magazines and...
Memoir with a View: Discovering the Metaphor of Your Narrator’s Experience
Don’t expect to know your metaphors before you begin to write. This is what you’ll discover as you write. Sue William Silverman Writing memoir is an act of self-discovery. And the discovery that happens during the writing often reveals the deeper story of the...