being a writer

I’m getting quieter. It shouldn’t be surprising, given that my origins involve being a quiet girl. But this is a very different kind of quiet. Not at all to do with the shyness that characterized my early years. This is quietness of…

I got the best compliment from another writer a few weeks ago. She said, “When I read your blog, it really sounded like you. It’s as if you were sitting here talking to me.” I was thrilled, because that is my exact goal! It wasn’t…

I came to the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow to write. That’s a given. I’m here now. As I type, it’s a postcard-worthy fall day. I’m sitting on a deck about 30 feet high, with tall trees all around, swathed in various shades of orange, red,…

When it comes to the contents of my writing portfolio, I’ve been all over the place in the last 14 years. As a young magazine journalist trying to build credibility (“Really, I’m a writer!”), I put every national clip I had on my first web…

Trying something outside your professional comfort zone is a little bit like running down the street wearing a new pair of running shorts, suspecting the whole time that the shorts may not be covering your bum well enough. But since you can’t see…