Modern Women: May Writing Prompts & Theme

Facing the blank page together

image by Ben White on Unsplash

Last week I read a piece by

Keshia Alphabet

that stayed with me. We are often told to ‘write what you know’ and much of women’s writing that I come across is of a memoir style. We mine out lives for the hard-won insights and universal moments that will resonate across any man-made boarders. Yet Keshia asked, what if your life hasn’t been full of trauma, what if you don’t have pain to use as currency on the page? Is your story still worth reading?

A question I often ask in my monthly spotlight interviews is how much is too much when we share our personal lives. The answers have fascinated me and this month I’d like to invite you to dig into this idea with me.

I am asking for your wisdom, your experience, and your honesty. Have you ever regretted something you’ve shared.

Have you experienced a backlash from friends or family members when you’ve included stories from your past that they were also a part of?

Is personal essay writing the new self therapy? Are we just trauma dumping or is there really benefit from it, for ourselves and our readers?

So how do the prompts work?

For those new to our monthly prompts please note that they are open to you not just…