Personal essays tear us up for a few pennies at a time. Is it worth it? — We value memoirists and nonfiction essayists who can penetrate the grief, horror, heartache of life and show us something raw, something essential in humanity. We value them so much, in fact, that it’s become something of an industry on the internet. In a sense, writing has always been an exercise…

Laying out standards of reading and writing into a new set of artistic principles. — Let me say something right up front: I’m not a subscriber to the “no rules” side of writing — and I’m tired of bad writers abusing the patience of readers. Simple as that. This isn’t a diatribe against anarchy or artistic freedom. I believe in the usefulness and beauty of…

A year of explosive creativity ends a long fallow period in my life, but what does it signify? — A little over a year ago, I started writing again after two decades of working and raising children. As a woman in my forties, I suddenly needed a creative outlet. What I had pushed away as indulgences became necessities: fiction, poetry, memoir. Why? A lot of creative types must go…

Blather, wince, delete: The directions printed on my back. — Everyone — or at least a sizable chunk of Twitter — likes to feel clever. We like to have our intelligence validated. We like to tell a good joke. And some of us dream of being the life of the party, even when it’s not our party. When that desire…

Learning how to breathe more life into poems. — Poetry is an art form that requires selectivity. But the relative brevity of a poem should not exclude an immersive experience for the reader. Indeed, it can even enhance it. In this essay, I want to talk about the concept of “interiority” in poetry. Interiority might be best defined as…

A case for why writers should not cut every “very” from their work. — Once upon a time, a little old lady lived alone in a little old house in the middle of a deep dark forest. She was so very very sad, for no one loved idioms as much as she. That time is now, dear reader, and that little old lady is…

The most important piece of writing advice I’ve received came from a reader who wanted to see me succeed. — Writers too often go it alone. The luckiest among us have a supportive network of family and friends ready to champion our work. Others have an adopted online family of other writers and readers who rally when the going gets rough. Some writers have nobody but themselves pushing them on. …

An elderly neighbor’s loneliness broke our social distancing efforts. — In some ways, my world was a small one even before Covid-19 forced social distancing measures on us. Now as the economy “re-opens,” I see the fingers of the pandemic reaching into my family’s space. It comes in the form of longing for social interaction. My days are typically spent…

For me, “I wouldn’t have it any other way” is the new “I’m happy.” — What is happiness? Is it glee? Or contentment? The older I get, the more I appreciate the nuances of personal satisfaction, and how much is involved in enjoying life. Happiness is deceptively simple. In children, happiness is carefree. It’s “having fun.” Happiness is laughter and smiles. Once you grow up…