Category Archives: Telling our stories

Alchemy

Years ago, when I first started teaching, a woman signed up for my class at the John C. Campbell Folk School in the N.C. mountains because her doctor had told her that if she didn’t do something for herself soon, … Continue reading

Posted in creativity, depression, emotion, Energy, Magic, Process, Prompts, Self-worth, soul, spirit, Story, survival, Telling our stories, Transformation, Uncategorized, Visibilty, voice, women | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is Confidence Necessary?

I am at an age where I look back on my younger self with great tenderness. I wonder what happened so early in my childhood that my confidence was completely wiped out. There are of course institutions and people to … Continue reading

Posted in comfort, Comparison, creativity, critique, emotion, failure, fantasy, privacy, Self-worth, silence, Society, survival, Telling our stories, Uncategorized, Visibilty, Wounds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Nine times a month I teach classes devoted only to writing from prompts. The prompts can range anywhere from a line of poetry, to a picture, to an object, to writing a story that places an object within a picture, … Continue reading

Posted in class, Community; Genorosity, creativity, Energy, Exploration, fun with what we do, Magic, Process, Prompts, Story, Telling our stories, The Muse, Uncategorized, Writing exercises | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Distorting American History

Dear Karen, I am not living the life I was raised to live. I was raised to be a housewife, to not work, to have children and stay home. My mother wanted me to go to college so I could … Continue reading

Posted in fiction, History, research, Story, Telling our stories, truth, Uncategorized, voice | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Empathy

Dear Karen, It is two days past Thanksgiving, 2014. At the start of the week we learned of a grand jury’s refusal to indict a policeman for the shooting of an unarmed black man. There were riots. Cars were burned. … Continue reading

Posted in class, economics, Elitism, emotion, Grief, Story, Telling our stories, Uncategorized, violence, voice | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Caretaking

Dear Karen, Your letter about layers has made me think of the layers of my own history, manifest in certain pains that I am grappling with now. These layers, layers I thought long ago put to rest with therapy and … Continue reading

Posted in comfort, Day by day, depression, fiction, Maintenance, Motherhood, Process, Story, Telling our stories, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Laughter and Tears

Dear Karen – I am thinking about laughter. I love laughter. I love humor, hilarity, wit, silliness. I love joking. I love irony. Sometimes I love things that aren’t supposed to be funny, or weren’t funny while they were being … Continue reading

Posted in class, Community; Genorosity, creativity, fun with what we do, happiness, Philosophy, Play, Process, Publishing, Telling our stories, The Writer's Life, Uncategorized, what artists need | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

I have to believe there is a writing life….

Dear Nancy: This last week or so I have been moving back home after my semester away.  My days have been filled with a heap of teaching work still to do, dental checkups, pap smears, breast exams, clogged ears, and … Continue reading

Posted in comfort, creativity, economics, Gratitude, Self-worth, Telling our stories, The Writer's Life, what artists need, Writing career | Tagged | 5 Comments

Wholeness

Dear Nancy: As I said to you on the phone the other day, this last writing letter from you was the one I’ve loved most so far. I’ve carried it around in me all week, thinking about it. Thinking about … Continue reading

Posted in Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, Decisions, Self-worth, Telling our stories, The Writer's Life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The amniotic sea

Dear Nancy: I got your last letter while I was still at the ocean, that land of light and distance. We saw dolphins and egrets and newborn ponies and each day I walked to the far end of the beach, … Continue reading

Posted in Day by day, Decisions, Self-worth, Telling our stories, The Writer's Life | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment