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May 30, 2021
Poetry: A Healing Tool for Dark Days
I started this month with mental health for writers, and I want to end it with a more personal look at the same topic.One of the many reasons I’ve been grateful to Open Book for offering me this residency ...
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April 29, 2021On slowing down and appreciating the little things
With so much going on in the world and in our own individual lives, it’s easy enough to let small pieces of happiness slip through our fingers. As a writer wearing so many hats, I won’t lie, sometimes ...
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March 13, 2017
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Becoming a Writer #9: Monica Heisey
Some years in the writing life are better than others. A few years ago I was having a bad one. My draft of The Best Kind of People wasn't working out. I wasn't sure it was ever going to be good enough ...
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July 12, 2015
Self-censorship
There are two kinds of self-censorship.One is the restraint that emerges when writing memoir or other non-fiction, and you find yourself writing about living people who may feel hurt or slandered about ...
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August 20, 2017
Finish Your Vomit Draft Now
After I posted my last entry, I felt like I didn’t spend enough time talking about why it’s so important for you to finish your vomit draft.How many times have you read a book and thought, “How ...
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June 30, 2025Let’s Talk Books: Five Tips for Starting Your Own Book Club
I love talking about books. A lot. And for years, I wanted to be part of a book club. But there was one small problem: after taking too many English classes in university, I hate being told what to read. ...
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April 11, 2023Cool-down Time
There’s a third part to the poetry tour series. This post doesn’t have resources or logistical advice, but rather on how to survive the way a book tour suddenly occupies huge parts of your life.In ...
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April 02, 2024The Collected Essays in Work to be Done Share Remarkable Insights Into Fifty-Years of Literary Criticism and Analysis
Bruce Whiteman is an accomplished poet, translator, and scholar who has shown a vast scope of knowledge over his literary career. His essays have been published far and wide, and have provided valuable ...
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November 18, 2024Writing Lessons from Joni Mitchell
I often look to books for inspiration, but I just got back from seeing Joni Mitchell play in L.A., and as I was sitting at the Hollywood Bowl, with the moon rising over the hills, I realized how much ...
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February 24, 2025Grant Writing 101: Timelines
You’ve got an idea, you’ve got working title, maybe you’ve even got a beta reader, or a mentor lined up. You’ve got your budget planned out (and know how many days/weeks or hours your project ...
