PinnedStepping Stones to Becoming a WriterLast July, my husband and I travelled to the Tuscany region of Italy. Not because we just wanted a vacay after the long pandemic ruined everyone’s (everyone’s) plans (and, not to mention, lives). Not because we had travelled there exactly twenty years earlier as boyfriend-girlfriend after we met while studying…Writing4 min readWriting4 min read
Aug 26, 2022Life of a WriterWhen I left my career in psychology, I had no idea how to become an official writer. Now that I have my MFA and a book contract, I still have no idea. How does one make any money in this business? And even when I do have an idea of…MFA5 min readMFA5 min read
Aug 12, 2022Why Self-Reflection Helps You Become a Better WriterIn my last memoir writing course, a student asked me why I don’t have them read their work after doing a generative writing exercises. She went on to explain that in a long-term writing group she had previous engaged in, they would go around and each take a turn reading…Writing5 min readWriting5 min read
Aug 8, 2022Decolonizing the Classroom: What Makes a Workshop a Positive Learning Experience?My first time stepping into a writing workshop was at the Indiana University Writers’ Conference (IUWC) in the summer of 2018. I had just been waitlisted — and rejected — from the MFA program I was hoping to get into. After having to leave my job in psychology to move…Writing Workshop4 min readWriting Workshop4 min read
Aug 4, 2022My 4 Best Tips For How to Improve Your Writing (Even for Beginners)When I step into the classroom on the first day of the semester, I tell my students that they will be asked to leave behind some thing that they think they know about writing. We discuss the chapter “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott (from “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions…Writing Tips6 min readWriting Tips6 min read
Aug 3, 2022Writing in TuscanyOur plane landed in Florence, Italy and I knew there was no backing out. My husband, Jason, and I had left our daughter, Evelyn, with my parents in Milwaukee, WI, flew from Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany, and there we were. I came with my tank tops, shorts, sunscreen, and laptop…Writing Tips3 min readWriting Tips3 min read
