Most of the writers I know keep some sort of motivational support handy: a clever phrase written on a post-it note, a poster of a beloved writer, a highly dog-eared copy of “Bird by Bird,” the photograph of a stern…
Seats at the Table by A’rikka Dion
I remember the day that I decided I wanted to be a writer. I was ten and, although I had long been labeled as “the girl with the books,” it had never occurred to me that I could create my…
Let the Ghosts Crash the Party (It’s More Fun That Way) by Kelsey Ann Kerr
When I was 21, in the fall of my senior year of college at Denison University, my father died. It was unexpected; in a course of weeks he died of liver failure, swift but sudden after years of being overweight…
Poetry and the Patient by Guy Traiber
It’s 2:00 AM and I can’t sleep, although I still don’t know these two facts. At the moment I am simply lost in a darkness, unconsciously fighting to remain in the sweet forgetful sleep which is quickly dissipating, from one…
Silencing Your Internal Editor by Wendi Dass
The internal editor is an issue for every writer. Either it doesn’t speak enough or it never shuts up. For most, it’s the latter, and this has been the case for me. I call my internal editor Helga, the name…
Writing With and Without Rewards by Brigette Stevenson
Writing is tricky. The process is unique to each writer. And just when you think you understand it, it changes. It churns. It dives. It flows. Following just one route never works. How can you stay the course when the…
The Joys of Coming Late to the Table: An Older Writer Shares Life Advice by L Mari Harris
Confession: I am fifty years old, and even though I’ve been writing for decades, I did not start submitting my work until last year. I earned both my undergrad and graduate degrees in English Literature in the late 80s, where…