Going Home €Jessica P. Morrell Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days.  ~Doug Larson Almost two years ago I went home to the small town in northern Wisconsin where I lived until I was fourteen. The occasion was my father’s 80th birthday and I found a place changed […]

Summer in Words Writing Conference 2012   You don’t want to miss the stellar line up of professionals and bestselling authors so register soon.  Expect craft workshops that you can immediately put to use and inspiration that will propel you to your next steps. If you’re staying at the Hallmark Inn & Resort, register by […]

I keep circling back to the idea of resonance in writing, especially lately since it’s going to be one of the techniques explored during  my upcoming Summer in Words Conference. For years now I’ve been trying to puzzle out exactly how writers achieve resonance in their stories. By resonance I mean the many layers of […]

So here’s what you do: take your memories and present them to the reader. Take your passions. You take as much guilt and as little total depravity as you can safely mix in. You read. You steal. You want desperately to be a writer. You volunteer to nail your soft parts to a tree. You […]

©Jessica Morrell There is no mystery to turning pro. It’s a decision brought about by an act of will. We make up our minds to view ourselves as pros, and we do it, simple as that. ~ Stephen Pressfield File this column under my annual pep talk. Something you might hear from a hard ass […]

Line by Line: How to Rewrite, Rework & Reword March 24, 9-5 Tabor Space, 5441 S.E. Belmont, Portland, OR Cost: $75 Every good writer is also an editor. The tough thing about self-editing is learning what to keep, what to lose, and what to leave well enough alone. For some this can be difficult because […]

“And yet, words are the passkeys to our souls. Without them, we can’t really share the enormity of our lives.” ~ Diane Ackerman

The best advice on writing I’ve ever received is to take it seriously, because to do it well is all-consuming. David Guterson

Bad Advice? Good Advice? ©Jessica P. Morrell “You write to be read. That is the bottom line.” ~ Jane Yolen While teaching and working with writers I’ve heard them parrot all sorts of advice by well-known authors, experts, and cranks. And I’ve concluded that there sure is a lot of lousy advice aimed at writers. […]