Category: Contemporary Women Writers
Sculpting a Memoir
Memoir writers have huge egos. We actually believe that something we did is important to others. We are the like aging relatives reminiscing at Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone else at the table is anxious to talk about Billy’s wedding or Sally’s divorce, but old Aunt Mabel won’t shut up about life before the war. Her voice […]
From Letters to Novel
I come from a family who still writes letters—handwritten with envelopes and stamps and delivered by the postal service. While we don’t eschew email, it’s lovely to open the mailbox, recognize personal handwriting, and tear open the envelope. When Matt, my husband, was fighting in Iraq, we wrote letters—and emailed, of course. It was our […]
Five Things Writing Taught Me About Life
Playing it safe isn’t always safe. Mattie, the narrator of The Art of Crash Landing is a very flawed, not always likeable character. I’ve had people ask me why I took that risk, and while I understand what they mean, I’m not convinced that using a polite, affable main character would necessarily have been safer. […]
Minding the Gap: American Women Writers and World War I
Travel the roads from the scenes of battle; search the trains; wounded, frozen, starved thousands are dying in agonizing torture—not hundreds, but thousands. —Nellie Bly, “Hospital in Budapest Is Arena of Horror,” Washington Herald, 20 Jan 1915 As famed reporter Nellie Bly makes clear, women witnessed and wrote about the horrors of World War I, […]
How Books Can Empower Girls
Ever since I was little I’ve been inspired by how empowering stories and books can be when they hit the right chord within you. I also knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a professional writer. I started dictating stories to my parents when I was three, tried my hand at […]
A Memoir Narrator Transformed
Speaking of her most recent memoir, Joyce Carol Oates said in an interview, “[T]he elements of fiction…evoke rather than summarize, [which is] the desired goal in…memoir.” These days, memoirs mimic novels in plotting a narrative arc, and incorporating dialog, drama, a climax, and the protagonist’s transformation. The seeming requirement that novelistic techniques figure prominently in […]
The Influence of Social Media on My Life
Proposing to someone is nerve-wracking enough without having the worry of whether the wifi is going to work while you’re doing it. “You can post it later,” I told my nervous boyfriend, as he attempted to upload his guest post to my blog. Why had my boyfriend written me a guest post? I should rewind […]
10 Ways To Kick Start Your Writing
Joanne Harris, @Joannechocolat, is one of our favorite authors on twitter. If you do not follow her yet, you should! 1. If you’re at a creative loose end, read. If you’re not at a loose end, read. Basically, read. #TenWaysToKickstartYourWriting — Joanne Harris (@Joannechocolat) November 28, 2015 2. Leave your reading comfort zone. Read […]
Crafting a Passion into Writing
Someone asked me recently how I am able to come up with ideas for books to be published. At the time, I answered the question flippantly, saying that I am just very creative; a storyteller at heart. Nonetheless, this question did make me reflect on where an author gets their inspiration. With billions of books […]
Being a Neurologist and Writer
I’ve always wanted to be a writer, so I became a neurologist. In case this isn’t intuitive, let me explain. For years, I struggled with the decision to become a doctor or a writer. (Well, when I was six, I wanted to be a professional jump roper, but soon found out this wasn’t a viable […]
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