Why Would Anyone Care?
I was talking to a new writer friend recently and we got into a discussion about the insecurities and doubts that hold us back. And I told her a story I’d like to share here because I think it has…
Tag determination
Writer, Editor, Person who…sells insurance?
Whenever I’m going through an emotional downswing, my therapist asks me how my writing is going. I find this more than a little ‘kick me when I’m down’-ish, since the usual answer is that my writing practice has suffered along…
Thinking in Prose
I’ve been dealing with a rather unfamiliar feeling lately: enthusiasm about my own writing. If you keep up with this blog (and, really, it’s not that hard to do since I only post maybe four times a year) then you…
My Life is Like a Rollercoaster, Baby
Well, I have some updates: good and bad. Let’s get the bad out of the way: I didn’t get into the MFA program. I know, I know – I’m still shocked too. Despite my anxiety and self-worth issues, I really thought…
New Year, Same Me (the Good and the Imperfect)
This is my favorite embroidery I’ve ever done – on an aesthetic level but also on a personal one. It’s something I struggle with a lot: beating myself up for falling short of perfection. Which is funny, because I so…
Hope and Change and Fear and Cynicism
Note: When I opened the Word doc I type my blog posts in – never underestimate my laziness when it comes to capitalization – I was planning to write a post about hope, and the fear that accompanies and sometimes…
Annie Putnam and the Constantly-Shifting Goalpost
A few months ago, when I was neck-deep in new hope that I might actually finally finish this book, I was telling my boyfriend about all the things I worried might go wrong if and when I finished it, and…
A Brief Essay on Relearning to Write Essays
When I began my MFA in Creative Nonfiction, I sat there in the first class and tried not to visibly sweat as my classmates went around and summarized their ideas for their full-length book – our dissertation for the course…
How to live in two places at once?
It started with a ‘Facebook Memory,’ one of those blasts from the past Zuck likes to throw into my newsfeed like a perfectly weighted spear straight through my heart. He finally stopped showing me photos of my ex (although I’m…
Wednesday Night Ramblings From the Bath
I caught myself obsessing over my paltry number of ‘likes’ on an instagram post in the bath tonight, and I was ashamed (before myself and a god in whom I’m not sure I even believe). And with the shame came…
