MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. (MLK) was one of the most famous civil rights activists in the history of the United States, winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent efforts to end racial inequality. His life was tragically cut short at age 39 by an assassin’s bullet, but his contributions to […]
What could be simpler to understand than the act of people writing about what they know best, their own lives? But this apparently simple act is anything but simple, for the writer becomes, in the act of writing, both the observing subject and the object of investigation, remembrance, and contemplation. […]
Since October is Domestic Awareness Month, I want to help bring awareness to this issue while offering ways to write about how violence affects each of us personally. It’s not a subject we like to think about. And when it happens publicly, as recent viral videos have shown, those of us […]
When my mother left behind a lifetime of letters and journals, she thought it likely that no one would read or care about what she had written. I know because she wrote as much. But she was wrong: I cared, and have read most of what she left behind. Her […]
We can’t avoid it. It’s all over the news and in conversations: wars, random shootings, gang rapes, knifings and, most recently, the Boston Marathon bombings. Violence, if we are to judge by news sources, is everywhere and could even be considered “normal.” I’ve been involved in many philosophical arguments over […]
Go where the pain is. I’m on a flight from Oakland, CA to Phoenix, AZ when I read these words in an article by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni*. It’s not that I haven’t heard this saying before. I have. Even Banerjee was paraphrasing a writing teacher she once had. Yet I […]
We writers spend a lot of time and money learning about writing. We consume innumerable books, magazines, and blog posts. We attend classes and conferences and webinars. But, underneath all this activity, all this reaching to outside resources, we know that the most important method to becoming better writers is […]
Our greatest desire, greater even than the desire for happiness, is that our lives mean something. This desire for meaning is the originating impulse of story. ~ Daniel Taylor, from introduction To tell me a story. I believe that the search for meaning is what drives writers to write, painters to […]
As I was in the process of developing my new workshop and soon-to-be course, Journaling for Memoir Writers, I spent time revisiting all the reasons for journaling that reach beyond the cathartic. Not that there’s anything wrong about writing for catharsis—it’s just that journaling often gets pigeonholed, as if it’s […]
I was once married to a man who believed a father should rule his family with unbending authority, the role of authority is to provide security and safety, and the authority figure (the father) should be given respect, regardless of what he says or does. In contrast, I was raised […]
Sharon Lippincott’s recent post, “What’s the Difference Between an Essay and a Story?” brings up an important topic for creative nonfiction writers. I’ve had many discussions (friendly arguments) about the distinction between the two forms. According to Lippincott, Story and Essay are two ends of a spectrum. She says, “We […]
Sometimes, when I feel I need centering and a sense of direction, I’ll draw a rune. Runes are small stones or tiles with symbols etched into them—a form of oracle. The little book which accompanies my set of runes defines Oracle as something that “points your attention towards those hidden […]
