Jyl offers a gender-bending writing exercise this week: “..try this exercise. First, make a list of questions relating to gender, femininity and masculinity. Go back as far as you can remember…Close your eyes and remember. Look at old pictures. …When did you first know you were a boy/girl?”
Terri suggests you ask yourself a few key questions which can help you decide if indie publishing is the right path for you: “Publishing a book is like a starting a small business. It’s hard, time-consuming work—and it’s not for everyone. Here are seven questions to help you think through your decision.”
This week, Lauren talks about the process of making art and expresses appreciation for its arduousness, thoughtfulness and the time it takes: “Too often, art-making is dismissed as a luxury…We’re taught that rigor exists in eight-hour days at offices. That art-making is a lofty goal—that it’s for people who refuse to grow up, that it’s foolish and nonsensical. I beg to differ.”
Traci takes poetry into the coziness and intimacy of the living room with an in-home poetry salon: “There’s no definitive structure or schedule, just good poems and good company. Naturally, we end up talking about lots of other things concerning our lives and/or poetry, but what brought us together is what keeps us together, and what keeps us coming back to each other’s living rooms—poetry.”
Welcome to this week’s featured writing prompt. This week we’re writing about color, lights, noise—the music of carnivals—as if we’re walking through the festive streets. What are the physical sensations of being on carnival rides? Of moving through the crowds? Of waiting in line and the anticipation of reaching your destination? When day turns to [...]
Join us in welcoming Bellwether Prize winning writer Naomi Benaron as The Writer’s Life’s newest regular contributor. “I would like to share my thoughts on craft, books I am reading, social justice, and this new life into which my book has thrown me.”
Traci offers ideas for titling poems—a sometimes elusive and difficult task. “Even after a poem has been through a dozen drafts, and it’s starting to feel done, I still have to look at the blank top inch of the page and consider the title…It’s hard to decide when it’s ‘right’, but here are some strategies for titling.”
Jyl talks about essentials for the writer: faith and patience. “I can’t tell you how to hold onto your faith, only that you have to have it, if you want to write. Keep writing even if you don’t know what’s coming next. The story will find you, it always does. The story you have to write eventually finds its way out of all the muck. But you have to have patience.”
Join us in welcoming indie writer Terri Giuliano Long as The Writer’s Life’s newest regular contributor. Terri will share her experience and expertise: “I’ll be writing about indie publishing, sharing stories, offering advice. If you have a question that I may be able to answer, let me know.”
Lauren experiences nudist performance for the first time and discusses what emerges when the layers are removed: “…not once did this feel like a shock-value tactic. Rather, their nudity felt more like an invitation to explore a new way of thinking about bodies and the ways that we navigate the world and create space using our bodies. The ways that we create space for ourselves in a world that isn’t quite ready for how full and rich our identities truly are.”
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Join Traci each week as she blogs about poetry and her daily writing life in the run up to her next title release, Our Lady of the Ruins. Listen to Traci's One World Café podcast here.
Lauren writes about her experience as a poet, performer and the creative life in the city. Listen to her One World Café Virtual Reading here.
With over fifty years of writing experience, Jyl posts about the writing process with occasional writing prompts to encourage your practice. Find out more about Jyl at jyllynnfelman.com.
Amy Wright, winner of 2012 Pavement Saw Chapbook Contest, writes about her journey into book arts and the business of writing in the 21st century. She also offers Q&A's with professional writers.
