Author Archives: Dorothy Ross

About Dorothy Ross

Dorothy Ross has spent most of her adult life in the western United States. Because her husband supervised major highway construction projects, they moved frequently: from Hawaii to Texas; Washington to Arizona. But Davis, California, was their home base. During those nomadic years, before email, Dorothy wrote many letters to a homebound friend in Davis describing the people and places she encountered in her travels. When her husband retired and they returned to Davis permanently, Dorothy was pleased to learn that her friend, a retired librarian, had saved all those travelogue letters. They were to become the source material for Dorothy’s early writing attempts. Widowed in 2020, she now lives with her daughter and son-in-law in Golden, Colorado. Her work has appeared in many print and online anthologies.

At 80, Dorothy Ross Followed Author Anne Lamott’s Advice, Got her Memoir Written and Published It.

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Dorothy Ross’s memoir, NOT Just a Secretary, holds all the alertness and wry humor she evidenced during her years at work and in retirement. She shares a spirited description of getting her book written and then out there followed by … Continue reading →

Writing It Real Fall/Winter Contest Winner Dorothy Ross’ “A Night at the Plaza”

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[I will be posting the work of our recent three winners this week and then for the next two weeks. I hope you enjoy their comments about the writing of their work, our contest judge Sharon Byran’s comments, and, of course, the writing. – Ed.] Here is Dorothy Ross on why she is writing the … Continue reading →

To access this post, you must purchase Online Personal Essay Writing Workshop + Membership, Development and Line Editing + Membership, Yesim Cimcoz Where Story Begins + Membership, Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor – How Editing Helps You Find Your Way + Membership 11:00AM, Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor – How Editing Helps You Find Your Way + Membership 2:00PM, Poetry Writing Workshop + Membership, In-Class Writing and Responses – Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses – Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 11:00 AM, Summer Reading Summer Writing Plus Membership, Write More Healthy Starts Plus Membership, You: Writing in the 2nd Person Online Workshop Plus Membership, Keep Goin’ On Your Writing over the Holidays Plus Membership, Writing for Young Readers Plus Membership, Introduction to Scrivener — Plus Membership, Writing Healthy Starts + Membership, Eight Half-Hour Consults + Membership, Befriending the Giant + Membership, Write! Write! Write! Writing Exercises for Writing Prose from Personal Experience + Membership, Phone Consult: 3750 Words or Six Poems + Membership, The 3 E’s: Epistolary, Ekphrastic and Epideictic + Membership, Four Half-Hour Consults + Membership or New! Using the Flash Series Technique to Write Memoir.

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On Making Audio Memoirs

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Not long ago, Writing It Real member Dorothy Ross wrote to me about her newest project — recording the narratives she’s written about her life for her family to have in the form of audio files. I listened to a few of them and was so pleased to hear her physical voice. I immediately wanted … Continue reading →

To access this post, you must purchase Online Personal Essay Writing Workshop + Membership, Development and Line Editing + Membership, Yesim Cimcoz Where Story Begins + Membership, Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor – How Editing Helps You Find Your Way + Membership 11:00AM, Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor – How Editing Helps You Find Your Way + Membership 2:00PM, Poetry Writing Workshop + Membership, In-Class Writing and Responses – Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses – Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 11:00 AM, Summer Reading Summer Writing Plus Membership, Write More Healthy Starts Plus Membership, You: Writing in the 2nd Person Online Workshop Plus Membership, Keep Goin’ On Your Writing over the Holidays Plus Membership, Writing for Young Readers Plus Membership, Introduction to Scrivener — Plus Membership, Writing Healthy Starts + Membership, Eight Half-Hour Consults + Membership, Befriending the Giant + Membership, Write! Write! Write! Writing Exercises for Writing Prose from Personal Experience + Membership, Phone Consult: 3750 Words or Six Poems + Membership, The 3 E’s: Epistolary, Ekphrastic and Epideictic + Membership, Four Half-Hour Consults + Membership or New! Using the Flash Series Technique to Write Memoir.

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Bagging Africa’s Big Five

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Dorothy Ross’s winning personal essay takes her readers to Africa and a photo safari involving more action than the writer had bargained for. The details the author chooses put us right into the situation with directness and good humor, attributes of good writing. Bagging Africa’s Big Five by Dorothy Ross Thirty-six hours after leaving San … Continue reading →

To access this post, you must purchase Online Personal Essay Writing Workshop + Membership, Development and Line Editing + Membership, Yesim Cimcoz Where Story Begins + Membership, Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor – How Editing Helps You Find Your Way + Membership 11:00AM, Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor – How Editing Helps You Find Your Way + Membership 2:00PM, Poetry Writing Workshop + Membership, In-Class Writing and Responses – Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses – Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 11:00 AM, Summer Reading Summer Writing Plus Membership, Write More Healthy Starts Plus Membership, You: Writing in the 2nd Person Online Workshop Plus Membership, Keep Goin’ On Your Writing over the Holidays Plus Membership, Writing for Young Readers Plus Membership, Introduction to Scrivener — Plus Membership, Writing Healthy Starts + Membership, Eight Half-Hour Consults + Membership, Befriending the Giant + Membership, Write! Write! Write! Writing Exercises for Writing Prose from Personal Experience + Membership, Phone Consult: 3750 Words or Six Poems + Membership, The 3 E’s: Epistolary, Ekphrastic and Epideictic + Membership, Four Half-Hour Consults + Membership or New! Using the Flash Series Technique to Write Memoir.

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