• Writer Challenges

    A Writer’s Therapist

    Tweet Hi there. It’s been months. I’m not sure if anyone is still reading this, but if you are, welcome. I got my graduate degree in counseling psychology years ago. But for the last decade, I’ve been working as a writer. The more I wrote, the more writing seemed to circle back to the same themes of health, wellness and spirituality. My tagline once was I used to be a therapist now I counsel others on the written word. That’s what I want to do here. Offer advice for writers looking for help dealing with all the negative emotions that…

  • Fiction writing

    3 Surprising Truths About Sharing Your Writing

    Tweet It took me a long time to do it. I blame it on the years of torment I endured fromĀ a high school teacher reading our work aloud. With our names. And with unnecessary bullying and negative criticism included. But it’s come at a detrimental cost. What hiding has done in the long run is hurt my writing. As a freelance writer, edits, feedback, and revisions are part and parcel to the job. It doesn’t feel personal. Someone pays me to write words for them and it’s my mission to deliver that. But when I write fiction, it feels like…

  • Writer Challenges

    Why It’s So Scary Being a Writer

    Tweet In The Courage to Write, Ralph Keyes says: “Just thinking about being a writer can be scary (as well as thrilling; the two tend to go hand in hand). Saying-even to yourself-“I’m a writer,” or “I’m going to be a writer,” or even “I guess I’ll do some writing now,” feels presumptuous; like a five-year-old playing make-believe for bemused grown-ups.” What makes calling ourselves “writers” so scary? Doctors, teachers, heck even my husband can spout out their careers as if they were describing the weather. Whereas I? I fumble through the word inaudibly. Fear of Being Judged I think…

  • Writer Challenges

    The Reality of Writing

    Tweet {photo credit} If you already know writing and getting published is tough, skip this post! As for me, I think I’ve only recently discovered the depth, cruel intensity and psychological battle that can only be described as real writing in the trenches of hard work. After more than a decade of writing (maybe even two), you would think I’d get this by now. But the realization only hit me after I started my own writer’s group. It’s been an experience that I wished I had done sooner. Although there are several reasons why I believe the members of my…