Most of my literary influences didn’t sound a thing like me. Virginia Woolf compulsively detailed upper crust London; David Sedaris laughed about his dysfunctional family…
WRITING LIFE: Live to Tell, Tell to Live by Amy M. Miller
Category: Writing Life
Our Writing Life column archive, which features an array of guest contributors.
WRITING LIFE: The Magic of ‘Big Magic’ by Abby Norman
I had a rather strange experience last week where, in the span of one day, three separate people recommended Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest book to me. It wasn’t even a suggested reading type recommendation. It was a “stare deep in someone’s eyes and whisper, you have to read this book” type recommendation. I was hesitant because…
The Writing Life: Watching the Clock by Kelly Shire
When my two children were both old enough to attend school, I was excited by the prospect of solitude and the chance to finally return to writing.
The Writing Life: The Ghost Reader by Sharon Kurtzman, Guest Columnist
“They want writers to come,” said a friend about the ghosts that were rumored to haunt The Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities in Southern Pines.
The Writing Life: Please Stop Writing by Jennifer Hill, Guest Columnist
I took a workshop once where the instructor said, “If you stop writing, if you never write another word, I’d still like you.”
The Writing Life: A Conference Junkie Discovers Another Option in ASJA By Donna Talarico
Anyone who knows me, knows I love learning. Outside of earning other degrees, taking non-credit courses, or attending writing workshops, one of the best methods of professional development is attending industry conferences. From 2010 to 2015, while I worked in higher education, I attended more than 20 conferences – and had a speaking role at…
The Writing Life: A Case of the Mondays by Kevin Finley, guest columnist
At an October 2014 concert in Minneapolis, Ryan Adams leaned into the microphone and joked, “I have a case of the Mondays.”
Writing Life: Leaving Your Bad Neighborhood by Elizabeth Gaucher, Guest Columnist
I won’t say we can’t be fit and healthy, but I can say we aren’t exactly known for those characteristics. We are stereotyped as pasty, tortured, intellectual, deeply troubled people with a penchant for alcohol.
The Writing Life: How I Started the Margaret Atwood Revolution by Sonal Champsee
I’d been a Twitter-hater up until then. I was all over Facebook, but I didn’t get … how anyone would find wisdom in a 140-character distillation of Justin Bieber’s deepest thoughts.
The Writing Life: Writing with a Day Job by Shannon Fandler, Guest Columnist
I realized calling myself a professional writer didn’t matter as much as I had thought, and that was actually a good thing. It knocked the pedestal out from under this career choice.
