Word by Word

Practical insights for writers from Jessica P Morrell

Archive for the 'Jessica Page Morrell' Category

Let me into the dark of your mind

Well, it’s another day of another heat wave. Color me bleak. And sweaty. One of the many reasons I moved to the magical Pacific Northwest was to escape the miserable, humid summers of the Midwest. When the going gets over 90 degrees farenheit, I turn to fiction and films, and, as previously mentioned, TV shows […]

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Get Inspired: Art Surrounds Us

I post paintings on my Facebook page  because in these often-trying times I believe that art affords a unique form of solace. I’m reeling from the Supreme Court ruling granting presidential immunity as are millions of people in this country and countless others around the world. And am in great need to solace. Then I […]

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July

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Captures

Yesterday I was awake early and my windows were  open as a persistent and melodious birdsong  wafted in. It  was the false dawn. I’ve long been intrigued by this word pair because not only is it the liminal light that precedes dawn, but it also describes a promising situation that doesn’t come to fruition. The […]

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Happy Solstice to writers everywhere

These beauties are harebells after a rain. They’re also called Scottish bluebells or fairy thimbles.  And they’re edible. I’m not familiar with them, but grow a larger variety of  Campanula, the bellflower.  Their peak season is about over in my garden, but I’m going to try coaxing out more blooms. However, since the harebells are […]

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According to Dorothy Allison: the transformative power of story

On Tuesday night I spoke to writers in Portland and while out of practice with public speaking, I returned to the topic of  the importance of keeping writer’s notebooks, commonplace books, word lists, and ephemera that inspire. Because sometimes words and visions can appear so fleeting it’s best to capture them whenever, however possible. And […]

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June

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Why are we reading, if not in hope of beauty laid bare…

“Why are we reading, if not in hope of beauty laid bare, life heightened and its deepest mystery probed? Why are we reading if not in hope that the writer will magnify and dramatize our days, will illuminate and inspire us with wisdom, courage, and the possibility of meaningfulness, and will press upon our minds […]

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Portland, OR area writers I’ll be speaking on June 4

  We’ve got another cloudy morning here in the Pacific Northwest as spring winds down.  I’m working on another manuscript with the deadline fast approaching–it’s the third in a thriller series and is appropriately twisty, fast-paced, and more than a little scary. As usual, I’m trying to turn up the thrill and tension. And speaking […]

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