Category Archives: WIR2018

This category can only be viewed by members. To view this category, sign up by purchasing 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™s: Epistolary, Ekphrastic and Epideictic + Membership, Four Half-Hour Consults + Membership or New! Using the Flash Series Technique to Write Memoir.

The Past is Always in the Present, A New Year’s Greeting

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About the size of my palm, the orange glass turtle with stout yellow feet has been with me since 1972. We started out in Matawan, New Jersey, where my 7th-grade class presented him to me as a goodbye giftā€“I was moving to the West Coast with my husband, a transferring medical student. The turtle was … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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In a Season of Lists, Write a Litany to Help Yourself Keep Writing

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It is holiday time and amidst the tornado-like whirl of shopping, decorating, traveling, baking, cooking, and gathering with family, friends, colleagues and community, of offering help in shelters and churches, it may seem hard to write. And even harder still to write to discover what is at the bottom of our hearts and minds. 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Writing Our Personal Stories for Others: Susan Smith’s “My Heart Attack Saved My Life”

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I havenā€™t posted in the Writing It Real category of ā€œWriting Makes a Differenceā€ in a while now as Iā€™ve concentrated on writing exercises to keep you inspired. This week, though, I am returning to that category to share Susan Smithā€™s account of having a heart attack. She wrote this piece because little is discussed … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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I Can’t Get Enough of Flash Memoir!

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Writing Flash Memoir is great exercise for writers. Iā€™ve been experiencing this in my own writing and editing and in the classes I have been teaching online and in-person. Getting toĀ the point and writing tight while still relying on details to move the reader into the story and move the story forward to its poignant, … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Enabling Voice by Molly Tinsley

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We praise writing for its voice, but run into problems when we try to describe exactly what it is weā€™re responding to. Just as we each have an identifiable voice when we speak, there is something we call a writerā€™s voice that distinguishes his or her work. Faulknerā€™s fiction sounds different from Hemingwayā€™s. A Mary … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Taking Inspiration from Allen Ginsbergā€™s Poems to Have My Say

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Tuesday, as I waited for election returns, I thought of Allen Ginsbergā€™s poem ā€œHowl,ā€ written in 1955, so full of despair at what he had seen around him. I wondered what I would howl when I found out whether or not Democrats had gained a majority in the House of Representatives and, therefore, become able … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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A Gander at Propaganda

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ā€œThe Institute for Propaganda Analysis: Protecting Democracy in Pre-World War II America,ā€ an article authored by Zachary Reisch and kept in the Bryn Mawr Institutional Library, offers clarification about the exploration of propaganda in our country. ā€œWhat is democracy?ā€ Reisch asks and he goes on: This is the question that liberals in late 1930s America … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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A Wonderful Genre: Models and Lessons to Help You Write Flash

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For the past month, I have been teaching an online class in writing in the flash subgenre. Last Saturday, I taught an all-day in-person seminar on the genre. So, this week, I am sharing some of my lesson ideas and links to model flash pieces, which I hope will encourage you to try your hand … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Hiring the Journal Keeper (and/or the Writer Within)

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Ā  ā€¦the heartā€¦and the learned skills of the conscious mindā€¦ make appointments with each other, and keep them, and something begins to happen. Mary Oliver A Poetry Handbook Whether you are someone who sets out to write poems, essays, stories or articles or keeps journals, the thinking and analogy I make in this excerpt from … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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From The Writer’s Portable Mentor: What About Self-Publishing?

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Essayist, nonfiction author and poet Priscilla Long has given me permission to share an excerpt from her recently released new edition of her already classic book for writers, The Writerā€™s Portable Mentor. All of Priscillaā€™s advice is clear and sound. I am grateful for the opportunity to share some of her thinking with Writing It … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Double Issue: Writing Exercises to Inspire You to Write

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Here is a collection of writing ideas to keep you going for days as our schedules start to fill with fall commitments and shorter daylight. Let the Seasonsā€™ Personas Inspire You to Write Itā€™s the change of seasons now. Some of us feel crisp, chilly air as September wanes. Others of us may find other … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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The Change in the Trees, How Strong the Wind is Blowing

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As I update an earlier book of mine, A Year in the Life: Journaling for Self-Discovery, I will be sharing some of my favorite writing exercises with you over the next few weeks. Hereā€™s the first of several lessons I am enjoying revisiting: A Lesson From Morrie and Rilke Many of us have read Tuesdays … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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The Light Had Been Shining

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When I was in third grade, my teacher asked me to write a Chanukah play to be presented along with a Christmas play for the kids in my class. I am not sure how she identified me as a writer. Perhaps we wrote stories for class and she liked mine. How did I even know … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Moving an Essay Toward Completion — Pam Robinson’s “Table of Plenty”

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Pam Robinsonā€™s entry into the fall 2011 Writing It Real contest is an essay about her memories of her motherā€™s cooking and life on a farm. As I spend time harvesting onions, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, various beans, Asian pears and soon apples and second crop radishes from my own garden, I resonate with the harvest … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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 Labor Day: What Writers Might Celebrate About Their Vocation

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The first Labor Day was celebrated by some on September 5, 1882, when Knights of Labor leader Peter J. McGuire requested that the first Monday in September be a day of rest for American workers. A parade in New York Cityā€™s Union Square honored the working people of America. Thousands took the day off to … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Prose Poetry in a Smoky Time

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I was sitting at my dining table this morning with a cup of coffee looking out over the still smoky and haze-ridden sky we had experienced on the Olympic Peninsula for a week because of fires in Eastern Washington and in British Columbia. Sometimes we couldnā€™t see the islands so close to our shores here … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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To Love the World and Let the World Love You: August Advice for Writing Poetry

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August is the Gregorian calendar month named after the Roman Augustus Caesar, the man responsible for spreading the Roman Empire over the earth. He wrote about his great accomplishments, writings some think of as the typical age-old boastings of a politician. However, others wrote after his death that upon innumerable occasions he donated money to … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Nahid Rachlin on Her Writing With Generous Excerpts from Her Memoir

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This past weekend, I was in conversation with fiction writer and memoirist Nahid Rachlin about her books and writing career. for my radio show on KPTZ ?In Conversation: Discussions on Writing and the Writing Life.? It had been over a decade since she and I had last held an interview, printed in The Writer?s Chronicle … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Stay in the Physical World: How Using Sensory Detail Builds the Inner Story

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Creative writing requires that we create experience through our words. We canā€™t just say a day was amazing, or it was depressing, or that a character felt ecstatic about something without our readers becoming disengaged. If we do that we have created distance between ourselves as writers and our material and, eventually, between the story … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Patricia Hampl, My To-do List and Fiddler on the Roof

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I am so enjoying reading Patricia Hamplā€™s The Art of the Wasted Day. Early in the book, page 18, she records one of her many to-do lists. She says first that she admires Montaigne, know as the father of the personal essay, for his ability to be rather than strive. He didnā€™t think of himself … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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To Follow Your Words, Not Your Keys, Home

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Years ago, a poet friend of mine, Jim Mitsui, ended a poem with an image of people ā€œfollowing their keys home.ā€ That image has lingered with me as a lesson about what the writing life saves us from, which is the dullness of always expecting the expected, and what it requires of us, which is … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Style Is the Wardrobe, Hairdo and Makeup a Storyteller’s Voice Wears

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[This article originally appeared online for the Eleven Stories online writing program.ā€“ Ed.] My mother called me after the royal wedding of Prince Harry andĀ Meghan Markle to talk about the brideā€™s gown. The daughter of a ladies coats and suit designer, my mother grew up immersed in New York cityā€™s fashion district. She called Markleā€™s … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Endings Part One

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Here is a video I prepared for a program online called Eleven Stories. I hope you enjoy my talk (with documents in there so you can follow along as I read and lecture).Ā  I will post Endings Part II next week. Iā€™d love to hear from you about how this information helps and/or what questions … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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An Approach to Writing Flash Nonfiction

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FlashĀ prose, sometimes called flashĀ literature, is creative writing between 500 and 1500 words. This term includes further subgenres proseĀ poetry, short essays and vignettes. Like the longer essay, or something now called short memoir, the flash personal essay evokes experience and arrives at discovery through the writerā€™s telling. Because it is short, it maintains a firm focus … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Sheila Bender Offers Tools for Writers on Breaking Their Silence

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Earlier this month, I spoke with Linda Joy Myers of the International Association of Memoir Writers as a guest on her podcast series Breaking the Silence (the player link for you is below). I spoke about tools for getting to your subject when you feel unable to address your material. That happens when you are … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Enliven Your Fiction or Memoir by Weaving Complications into Your Story

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Here is an article, originally posted in 2003 that deserves our writing attention again. In The Writerā€™s Idea Workshop,Ā author Jack Heffron sets himself the task of letting his readers know what to do after a first draft is on the page.Ā  In his manuscript, he writes: As we move deeper into the project weā€™re developing, … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Author Experiences with Book Titles

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Have you had a difficult time finding a title for your work? Needed help from others or resented help from others when you thought your title was just right? Here are 12 stories by 12 writers about how titling worked for them. I think youā€™ll enjoy the read and realize that there are two kinds … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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More on How to Write the How-to Essay (and Why)

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Iā€™ve been teaching the how-to essay again and reading models. I love how the how-to format offers the personal essayist a structure that inspires poignancy, honesty, and humor. Here is an excerpt from my book Writing and Sharing Personal Essays. And for after youā€™ve read about this style essay and the sample essay in 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Endings: From Seeds Planted in the Openings

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We have to leave a story, of any length, both satisfied and wishing the story stays with usā€”having fallen in love with the protagonists or having been at least drawn close to their situations, we want to carry the characters inside of ourselves, as if they are friends we know we wonā€™t see again, people … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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“Talk Much?” by Morgan Baker 3rd Place Winner

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When our 2018 winter contest judge Kelli Agodon awarded 3rd Place to Morgan Bakerā€™s personal essay ā€œTalk Much?ā€ she commented: As someone who loves finding words inside of words and who has struggled with dyslexia, I thought ā€œTalk Much?ā€ was an intriguing look at what the world (or the words) look like through dyslexia. 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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“Driving Home” by Barbara Simmons, 2nd Place Tie Winner, Winter 2018 Contest

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Our fall/winter 2018 contest judge Kelli Agodon felt that two poems tied for 2nd place. We posted one last week, ?Grave Site Visit? by Nancy Levinson, and this week we are posting the second second-place winning poem, Barbara Simmons ā€œDriving Home.ā€ Kelli wrote this about her choice of Barbara?s poem: ā€œDriving Homeā€ is a lovely … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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“Grave Site Visit” by Nancy Smiler Levinson, 2018 Winter Contest Winner

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One of two writings tied for second place in our fall/winter 2018 writing contest is ā€œGravesite Visit,ā€ a poem by Writing It Real member Nancy Levinson. Our guest judge Kelli Agondon described her choice this way: ā€œGravesite Visitā€ is a beautiful meditation on the healing powers of poetry and how poems (and writing) can help … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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“Disturbing the Calm” by Judith Kvinsland, 1st Place

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Our contest judge, Kelli Agodon, wrote this of her first choice piece in the fall/winter 2018 writing contest: Judith Barker Kvinslandā€™s essay, ā€œDisturbing the Calm,ā€ explores how sometimes, despite the ease of our lives, we need to take a risk. It is a thoughtful exploration of family, responsibility, and location, where the author learns something … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Recipes for Living Our Lives

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We all have favorite recipes weā€™ve used for food preparation and sets of instructions we have followed to succeed in putting something together. What recipes or instruction sets might we write up concerning what we have learned in negotiating other aspects of our lives: instructions for facing disaster, surviving loss, or failure? What would we … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Omniscient Narrator–Have fun with the all-seeing!

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Iā€™ve made a short video for a program called 11 StoriesĀ that has ā€œairedā€ for the people in that program. I am sharing it with Writing It Real members this week. In the video, I give a lesson on the third-personĀ omniscient point of view in writing.Ā  I think those of you writing flash nonfiction or fiction … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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To Follow the Right God Home

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I wrote this essay a year after my widowed mom moved from the home she had shared with my dad after his retirement. It was a new time in our lives, my mom widowed, my husband and I stepping up to help her during a time of health problems caused by ignoring her needs while … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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A Writer’s Digest Prize-Winning Essay

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Who among us wouldn?t envy the stamp of approval Vicki Horton?s personal essay ?Fishing with My Father? received from Writer?s Digest magazine in 2016? In answer to some of my questions about this writing and her writing life, Vicki responded: As you know writing is done mostly in isolation. I am my worst critic and … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Crafting Stories for Children (and Adults)

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This weekā€™s article by Nancy Lamb is a repost from 2008. It includes information on easy readers as well as on shaping other stories for children (or for any reader, really).Ā  Nancy Lamb, author of The Writerā€™s Guide to Crafting Stories for Children, has edited many books by those hoping to enter the young adult … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Writing for Young Children: What’s an Easy Reader?

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Author Beth Bacon is teaching her popular online workshop ā€œWriting for Young Readers ? Words of Honesty, Hope, and Wonderā€ for Writing It Real members March 15 ā€“ April 12, 2018. When I called Beth recently and asked her how things were going, she was very enthusiastic about a new batch of easy readers she … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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You: Writing in the Second Person

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There are many strong essays and stories written in the second-person point of view. One Iā€™ve come across recently, ā€œBreadā€ by Margaret Atwood, is especially instructive for its use of scenes to build an argument.Ā  With just the right details of place, situations, and people in those places, the you (who is her character and … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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For Writers, “Finders Keepers” Can Mean “Finders Re-arrangers”

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[This article appeared in slightly different form in 2014 ā€” ed.] As writers, our ears are tuned for measuring theĀ quality of the words we hear around us. Sometimes, our ears catch speech we think isĀ pure poetry or could be if read that way. We find that with a little rearranging these wordsĀ express more humor, more … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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Anna Quinnā€™s Novel The Night Child Holds Lessons for Writers

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In The Night Child, Nora Brown, descends into the kind of fragmentation that results when traumatic events have been repressed, her world becomes anxious and dark. In Anna Quinnā€™s skillful hands, both the world inside of Nora (who is no longer able to repress terrifying memories) and the world of loving people in her adult … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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To Explain How a Poem Grows

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This winterā€™s holiday school break, my grandson, now 15 and a half years old and equipped with his driverā€™s permit, took a two-week intensive driverā€™s education class. I certainly felt the passage of time as I remembered using an image of my son Seth receiving his driverā€™s license as I wrote a poem for him … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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A Writing Exercise to Help You Arrive at Deep Material

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Many say that the hardest part of writing is moving from daily activities to being able to create work that transcends the daily. There are ways, though, to launch new writing that unexpectedly gets you to your deepest material while allowing you to make the shift easily. What follows is an exercise that is meant … 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 ā€“ Your Writing Will Surprise You! + Membership 2:00PM, In-Class Writing and Responses ā€“ 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 Eā€™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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