Theory and Practice
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Should We Set Writing Goals?
I am writing this on New Year’s Eve, in the midst of the resolution-setting season. As I’m sitting here, I imagine that writers out there in the world are considering whether or not to set writing goals for the upcoming year. A born plan-maker and strategy-formulator myself, I have posed writing challenges for myself in Continue reading
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Reasons to Keep Writing
Writing is hard work. Maintaining a regular writing practice can be thankless. You don’t always get the recognition and support that you deserve. Your writing gets rejected. Or ignored. You may question your ability. You may wonder why you keep doing it, or if you should. At times when you feel that your writing is Continue reading
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Write the Book You Want to . . . wait . . . what?
If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it. Toni Morrison Who are we writing for, anyway? Since Toni Morrison died in 2019, I have encountered many times the above comment attributed to her. And every time I think of it, something about it Continue reading
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Writing about Our Obsessions
At a writing workshop I attended several years ago, the facilitator said, “Find your obsession, and write about it.” I have to admit that I was resistant to the idea. An obsession is not necessarily a healthy or positive thing, right? I mean, I thought about my obsessive need to check repeatedly to make sure Continue reading
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What? There’s a Problem with Memoirs?
A few weeks ago, I posted “Let’s Legitimize Personal Nonfiction.” In this post, I recounted my own experience of negative attitudes toward people who write about their difficult personal experiences and called for a firm recognition that personal nonfiction can be literary, and therefore legitimate, writing. Since then, I’ve been researching to discover some of Continue reading
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Apology to Mature Women Everywhere
Several years ago, I read Abigail Thomas’s memoir Safekeeping: Some True Stories from a Life. A member of my writing group at the time recommended the book, explaining that Thomas offers snapshots from a life in chapters that are often less than a page long and saying that she thought I might like it. I Continue reading
Do you write about yourself and your experiences? Do you write about traumatic events in your life? Or, do you struggle to find time and motivation to write?
If so, this blog is for you.
Person on the Page 