Your life, in six words.
I've never bore witness to a more challenging political climate than the one our country is experiencing right now. The months in the lead up to the Iraq war comes a close second, where I marched in protest of the war with millions of people through the streets of London in the city's largest political demonstration in history.
It's times like these where taking stock of what we believe is vital. Turn off the TV, the radio, put down your phone. Get quiet. Pull out a notebook and a fast writing pen. Here's your prompt: what I believe in. You don't have to address political issues or candidates. Tell me what you believe at your core. Ten minutes. Go.
This is the photo I didn't post on social media this spring. It was taken in the haze of a miscarriage. Writing through the experience was really powerful. Last week, Cosmopolitan published the essay I wrote that emerged from the experience.
Be specific. Not tree, but ponderosa. Not sandwiches, but corned beef. How do we teach ourselves to write with more specific detail?
A poem on why I teach writing practice
Last month, I appeared on Bend's local community radio station, 88.9 KPOV. Listen to The Point's Jacquie Elliot interview me about the writing process and upcoming writing events in Bend this fall.
When you hit the road this summer, take writing practice with you. Here's how.
Words of inspiration can sometimes come from unlikely places.
I like to call writing practice writing into the abyss. It is an act of faith. Day in and day out, you put pen to paper, without any guarantee of results, just like a young Olympic hopeful.
Study five books in this series of workshops dedicated to elevate the way you approach reading.
Dive deep into a writing practice this fall by joining a writing group.
This theme - writing to discover - continually surfaces among creators that I admire.
Like a painter, a writer must create a visual image for the reader. Your pen is your paintbrush.
Verbs bring energy to a sentence. You don't need to ring your hands on every verb, of course, but sprinkling some eyeball-stoppers here and there will invigorate your work.
Being a writer - or any type of creative for that matter - can feel lonely at times. There's no proverbial water cooler chat going on at my house. Just the noise of cars driving around the roundabout outside my studio window, my blue pen scribbling across the page.
I often find companionship from books where the author describes their writing process and gives us a glimpse into the voices inside their head. They too procrastinate? They too self-doubt? Alas, I'm not crazy. In fact, quite the opposite: I'm in good company.
Pop into Dudley's Bookstore in downtown Bend, OR for a fifteen minute writing workshop on Saturday, March 26.
I'm thrilled to partner with The Workhouse again on a workshop to help artists write about their work.
Join fellow writers in Central Oregon - new and seasoned - in a 30 day writing challenge. The ground will be warming up, and so will your writing muscles.
Stop what you’re doing, stop the thoughts going through your head – your to do lists, your future tripping and past dwelling and take in wherever you are, whatever you’re doing. Look, feel, hear, taste, smell. Hello, world.