Tag: women writers
Fanfaronade
You wouldn’t think one word I wrote in my debut novel, Annie’s Story, Book 1 of The Voyagers Trilogy, would cause a discussion between two mature men, would you? It was six months before my husband James actually asked to read my debut novel, Annie’s Story, published in April. I was quite surprised as I […]
Mental Health and Writing
Last night I watched, ‘Amy’, a poignant biopic of the young, troubled jazz singer who died at 27. As I watched I found myself becoming angry with her parents who saw the signs so early of her mental distress and chose to ignore it. And then I remembered that my parents had done something very […]
Q&A with Sara Eckel
Sara Eckel is a personal hero for those of us here at WWWB. All you have to do is read the title of her book, which stemmed from her “Modern Love” column in The New York Times, and you’ll understand why: IT’S NOT YOU: 27 (WRONG) REASONS YOU’RE SINGLE (Perigree Books). In it, she uses […]
On Being a Published Author
I didn’t have high expectations when I entered the women’s fiction division of the Tampa Area Romance Writer’s Contest. All I really wanted was some quality feedback on the first draft of the manuscript I had recently finished. And, truth be told, I needed a distraction. The agent I had signed with a couple of […]
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. […]
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 […]
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