Monthly Archives: October 2014
Midweek Writing Prompt: Forgiving Failures (10/15/14)
Posted on October 15, 2014 2 Comments
In my classrooms and workshops, I strive to create safe, welcoming writing communities where individuals feel free to explore ideas, stories, and concepts without judgment. After all, we need those spaces to get started. The judgment – of editors, professors, critical friends – will come later. But in the beginning, we need that soft, friendly […]
So you want to be a freelance writer
Posted on October 13, 2014 3 Comments
Some of you may not know this unless you’ve really examined the end of my CV, or know me well in person: I was a freelance writer and journalist for ten years prior to earning my MA and Ph.D. and becoming a professor of writing. I meet people all the time at conferences, in workshops, […]
Resurrecting dead stories
Posted on October 10, 2014 1 Comment
If you’re like me, you have a story or two, or a series of poems, or a novel, or even a scholarly article that has been relegated to the dustbin of your productivity. These are the pieces that have been through the publisher or editor rounds at so many places you’ve lost count and received […]
Midweek Writing Prompt: Scent memory (10/8/14)
Posted on October 8, 2014 Leave a Comment
In my classrooms and workshops, I strive to create safe, welcoming writing communities where individuals feel free to explore ideas, stories, and concepts without judgment. After all, we need those spaces to get started. The judgment – of editors, professors, critical friends – will come later. But in the beginning, we need that soft, friendly […]
The value of daydreaming
Posted on October 5, 2014 Leave a Comment
Would you like to feel instantly refreshed? Try daydreaming. For as much as we complain about how kids’ lives are so overbooked and overscheduled these days, we would be better served to take a hard look at our own practices. Namely, our tendency, as Americans, to pack our brains so full of tasks, goals, activities, […]
Revision suggestions: When and how to say no
Posted on October 3, 2014 Leave a Comment
Defense and flexibility are both important in writing, especially with editors and, for academics, peer reviewers. Editors and peer reviewers are the gatekeepers. They hold the keys to our publishing potential, so many writers hesitate to question anything they say or protest even the most unreasonable request. They control what we want and the idea […]
Midweek Writing Prompt: A New POV (10/1/14)
Posted on October 1, 2014 Leave a Comment
In my classrooms and workshops, I strive to create safe, welcoming writing communities where individuals feel free to explore ideas, stories, and concepts without judgment. After all, we need those spaces to get started. The judgment – of editors, professors, critical friends – will come later. But in the beginning, we need that soft, friendly […]
Amanda Morris, Ph.D. 