Allison K. Williams's Blog, page 31

Planting Seedlings: So Many Stories in a Day

By Ann V. Klotz

Stories, I thought when I was little, were always fiction. A fanciful child who loved to read, I made up novels in my head as I walked an elderly neighbor’s apricot miniature poodle. Influenced by Charles Perrault and Frances Hodson Burnett, I fashioned elaborate tales featuring orphaned girls in remote castles as the grumpy dog sniffed and sniffed. I penned an epistolary novel with a quill dipped in an actual inkwell and tucked the letters into the secret compartment of my...

Digging Deep Into Memoir

A Q&A WITH JENNIFER LEIGH SELIG, PH.D.

By Andrea A. Firth

Writer and educator Jennifer Leigh Selig, Ph.D. has always been curious about what connects us as human beings—that’s what draws her to memoir. With a master’s degree in literature and a doctorate in depth psychology, Jennifer tapped into her two academic interests and her love of the form to explore the art and craft of memoir writing in her new book Deep Memoir: An Archetypal Approach to Deepen Your Story and Broaden Its Appeal...

Write Anyway. Write Anywhere.

By Allison K Williams

I’m writing this on a plane. Normally, planes aren’t great writing spaces for me, because I love watching movie trailers and can spend four or five hours working my way through the in-flight entertainment system before realizing my eyeballs are dry and cuing up Inside Out for the eleventy-millionth time. (I’m sure Bing Bong, the imaginary friend who nobly self-sacrifices, is personally responsible for the continued eye health of many passengers.) But today I have a de...

Asking Directions

By Mickey Dubrow

Has anyone ever asked you, “Are you a pantser or a plotter?” The question is supposed to determine how you approach writing a book. A pantser writes by the seat of their pants, making the story up as they go along. A plotter plans out their story before they begin writing.

I was unfamiliar with this concept when I wrote my first novel. In fact, I didn’t know much of anything about how to write a book. I just knew I wanted to write one. I mean, how hard could it be?

I...

A Letter to the Brevity Blog Community—Let’s Keep Talking

Dear Writers,

Thank You—let’s start there.

Thank you for being part of the Brevity Blog, as both writers and readers. We launched the Blog in 2006 as a companion to our flagship magazine Brevity, and it quickly became a vibrant and ongoing conversation about the art and craft of creative nonfiction writing. To date, we’ve published more than 3,000 of your essays.

We don’t call them posts, because what we publish are essays, with a beginning, a middle and an ending, with the arc and m...

DO Read the Comments

By Allison K Williams

We’ve all heard the common wisdom: don’t read the comments. Because when we write that unexpectedly viral essay, or even just one that stirs up some feelings, the comments can get mean, even unsettling. Readers with axes to grind want to sharpen them on a writer they don’t even know—someone whose life they’re removed from, on a high, judgmental ledge.

Not reading the comments protects our feelings. We’ve had our say, and really, there’s no need to defend our point—...

Magical Realism

By James Hessler

I entered the dimly lit convention hall, fearing who I might encounter. I found the breakfast layout, poured a cup of coffee and loaded a plate with scone and fruit. I felt out of place, late to the game. I’d had a career in public education, served as a conscript in Vietnam, and had another career in a technology company. Even with three essays published and a completed memoir, I felt like an imposter. But I was looking for a path to get my memoir published, and this writ...

How to Build a Successful Small Press Book Tour

By Ellen Birkett Morris

Early in my career, I worked as a public relations assistant for my local indie bookstore. Part of my job was helping at author events. I saw thronging crowds show up for book signings by Kentucky basketball coaches and witnessed the genius of Amy Tan, who showed up with her support team, her best friend, and a purse-sized dog. To my young eyes these events were glamourous happenings that I could never imagine taking part in.

Flash forward too many years to menti...

Stop Believing Those Voices, Because We Are Good Enough

By Sandra Hager Eliason

My father’s favorite expression was “How could you be so dumb?” followed closely by “I’m ashamed of you.”

Which explains exactly why I stopped pitching my memoir after six rejections. The echoes of my father’s voice reverberated:

I’m not ready.

It must need more work.

How could I think I was good enough to pitch this? Someone else needs to review it, to tell me how to do it “right.”

For my father, the opposite of dumb was smart. I spent my life prov...

Blank Pages

By Becky Jo Gesteland

Two years ago, I started writing morning pages, per Julia Cameron’s suggestion in The Artist’s Way. I wake up early every—well almost every—weekday morning and encounter a new sheet of paper. This blank page offers the opportunity to write about whatever I want and take my time doing it. Though I admit I can only tolerate this blankness in the morning. Later in the day, I need a draft or an already-written essay to expand or revise. At night I want a complete manuscri...