Word by Word

Practical insights for writers from Jessica P Morrell

Author Archive

Poetry shapes the world

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February

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In case you can relate:

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Happiness is Reading

Happiness is in the quiet, ordinary things. A table, a chair, a book with a paper-knife stuck between the pages. And the petal falling from the rose, and the light flickering as we sit silent. ~ Virginia Woolf I’ve never used a letter opener as a bookmark, but I’m sure we agree that a delicious […]

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From Gretchen Felker-Martin

Horror is all about unspoken drives, desires, and fears. If you can sublimate that on the page, you can elicit a reaction from the reader, and you can give someone the relief of knowing they’re not alone with their forbidden thoughts or shock someone into wondering why these thoughts are forbidden in the first place. […]

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Gratitude, Ali Velshi’s Banned Book Club, Ray Bradbury, & Fahrenheit 451

I want to thank everyone who joined us this past Saturday morning for the Grand Canyon  Sisters in Crimes panel on Self Editing. It was a lot of fun, especially hanging out with Christine Estes, Susan Budavari, Denise Forsythe,  Yvonne Corrigan-Carr and other board members.  As usual, I had much to say and I believe […]

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Today will never come again

Today will never come again. Thomas Merton Merton was an American Trappist monk, activist, and poet who died in 1968.  He was only 52 when he died and his death has raised questions that he was possibly murdered because of his anti-war activism. But his brief observation on a summer afternoon is a good reminder […]

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A new year dawns…

What are you going to do with the precious hours and days, months and seasons ahead? What is your plan to bolster your creativity? Engage deeply with your writing? No matter that we face uncertainty, we can still believe in ourselves. Pause for wonder. Nurture curiosity. Practice everyday artful living. No matter that divisiveness is […]

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Wishing a beautiful Christmas and Hannukah to all who celebrate

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Wishing you a beautiful Solstice

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