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2 days ago5 min read

Writing Grief: What I Learned about Emotional Honesty in Poetry from Ted Kooser

Today I'm exploring emotional honesty in poetry with insights from "Pearl" by Ted Kooser. Plus my takeaways in how writing grief can enhance

5 days ago3 min read

Kickstart Your Creativity in 2025: Join Me for a Virtual Writing Retreat!

Discover new inspiration at Writing Jumpstart 2025!, a 4-day virtual retreat that starts 1/20. Here's what you need to know.

Dec 126 min read

"Writing the Ghostly Aspects of a Town" by Guest Blogger Milana Marsenich

Add ghostly elements of towns to your writing with tips from award-winning author Milana Marsenich.

Nov 148 min read

"Plotter or Pantser?" by Guest Blogger Kathie Giorgio

Plotter or pantser? Discover which approach works best for you as author Kathie Giorgio weighs in on this classic writing debate!

Nov 125 min read

Beyond Word Count: Writing Progress in November

Discover the power of going beyond the word count. Let's talk about other ways to make writing progress!

Jul 82 min read

Teaching Update: Fall Workshop Dates Announced

Join my next online writing creative workshop starting 10/9/24 at 6PM Pacific!

Apr 32 min read

Upcoming residency news!

This National Poetry Month, I'm thrilled to share that I've been accepted as the Writer-in-Residence at the Good Hart Artist Residency!...

Oct 6, 20233 min read

Harvest of Words: A Poetry Exercise

When I lived on the East Coast, I looked forward to the abundance of fall leaves each year. My girls and I would gather them, creating...

Aug 31, 20234 min read

Summer Adventure: A narrative poem writing exercise

Summer is often painted with a brush of adventure. There's something about this season, probably stemming from the time off school as...

May 29, 20233 min read

Revisiting Mid-Century Classics

Best laid plans I had great plans for May. Having plans should have been my first clue that life would throw me a curve ball or four. And...

May 10, 20233 min read

May is Short Story Month...

... and I had no idea until today. In my last newsletter, I mentioned that after a month of all things poetry during National Poetry...

May 1, 20231 min read

Focus on fiction + publication!

National Poetry Month is over, and I plan to spend the month of May focusing on fiction. To that end, I'm beyond thrilled to kick off the...

Apr 26, 20231 min read

Learn to Write a Golden Shovel!

Poetry forms can feel intimidating. We remember counting syllables, looking at meter, and trying to figure out if we're looking at a...

Mar 20, 20232 min read

Places to Take Creative Writing Workshops & Classes Online in 2023 (PART FOUR)

This week brings the fourth installment of places through which you can take creative writing workshops and classes online! If you have a...

Mar 6, 20232 min read

Places to Take Creative Writing Workshops & Classes Online in 2023 (PART TWO)

This week continues the list of place to take creative writing workshop and classes online. I'll keep adding to this list throughout the...

Feb 27, 20233 min read

Places to Take Creative Writing Workshops & Classes Online in 2023 (PART ONE)

At heart, I am a learner. If it had been an option, I would have stayed at university forever. I probably should have gone into academia,...

Jan 2, 20232 min read

Surrealism, Nature, and Poetry

I draw heavily from nature both when writing and creating visual art. Often the images that come to me when I create, while based on...

Dec 27, 20223 min read

From the Bookshelves: Gordo

Gordo is California author and artist Jaime Cortez’ debut short story collection, set in and around the Watsonville area (full...

Dec 19, 20222 min read

Experimenting with Death

I enjoy experimental poetry--poetry that takes risks and challenges the reader with surprising language, unexpected imagery, leaps and...

Dec 5, 20225 min read

On Novel Writing and Writing in Community

If you didn’t know, last month hundreds of thousands of people around the world joined together with a common goal: Write 50,000 words...