This post is an edited version of my 1/9/16 Rutland Herald column, "All Write!" Last week I offered some ideas and prompts for envisioning and planning your future. In this post I will continue on the theme of setting intentions through personal writing methods, this time by discussing personal mission statements. I have found, as … Continue reading Writing a personal mission statement
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Envisioning a Write New Year
This post is an edited version of the first posting of my newest column in the Rutland Herald called "All Write!" which ran January 2, 2016. Writing isn’t only my career (something for which I am extremely grateful), but also has been my lifeline since I was a teenager. I started writing a diary … Continue reading Envisioning a Write New Year
So you want to be a TLA (writing for healing/change) facilitator?
This evening I was asked by one of my online students how to start a TLA (Transformative Language Arts) -- Writing for Change or Healing -- practice/business. That is a big question and not one easily answered. There are too many factors to consider: location, niche, experience, education, personality, and financial situation, among others. So, … Continue reading So you want to be a TLA (writing for healing/change) facilitator?
A Path to Publication, pt 15: An editor is your friend
I try to shake loose my mind, so something fresh can fall out… This process acts like a sifter—sand falls through and bright nuggets come to light. –Natalie Goldberg, Thunder and Lightning In my last post I wrote about the struggle I was having with a particular essay. Every tweak made it seem even more … Continue reading A Path to Publication, pt 15: An editor is your friend
Not in Kansas… er, Vermont, Anymore
Ironically, I write so much these days that I don't have time to write. What I mean is, as a freelancer my work hours are taken up with writing for someone else, for money (which is fantastic--a dream come true!). Writing blog posts for fun have had to take a back-burner. But a few years … Continue reading Not in Kansas… er, Vermont, Anymore
When writing makes you feel crappy
In a couple of weeks I will be presenting "De-Stress, the Write Way" at my local hospital for the second year. This blog post was written in response to my experience there and was originally posted at tlan.org with the title, "When Writing To Relieve Stress Makes You Anxious." I made a mistake. I recently presented … Continue reading When writing makes you feel crappy
Writing Practice: The roles my journal plays
(I originally wrote this post, with the title, "Writing Practice: How I learned to use my words," for the Transformative Language Arts blog's series highlighting TLA practices.) Writing is my life. Day in, day out, I am writing—four weekly columns, magazine articles, and my journal—or I am helping others get their own words down. And I … Continue reading Writing Practice: The roles my journal plays
A Path to Publication, part 12: When the silence descends
Silence. My yearning for it is as strong as my need for sleep. At least eight hours of sleep and almost as much silence. Otherwise, don't expect too much from me. Today I have silence. For an entire day. It's a different kind of silence than I experience weekly once the kids are off to … Continue reading A Path to Publication, part 12: When the silence descends
A Path to Publication, pt 10: Kicking open the creaking door
At this past Saturday's conference of the League of Vermont Writers, keynoter David Dobbs encouraged us to kick open every door that creaks. This metaphor has been a repeating one in my life lately and I have been knocking on several. What I didn't expect was for some of these doors to not only creak, … Continue reading A Path to Publication, pt 10: Kicking open the creaking door
A Path to Publication: part 9: When life gives you lemons and you have no sugar
Ah, the writing life. You hear it all the time: it's damn hard. There are cartoons and quotes all over the place about problems with which writers are well acquainted: procrastination, self-doubt, imposter syndrome, the high of inspiration turning to the agony of reality, too little time, too much wine, doubting friends, know-it-all strangers, writer's … Continue reading A Path to Publication: part 9: When life gives you lemons and you have no sugar
joanna tebbs young 