Meet Me in the Middle: Reflections on 33,000 Words

By Allison Kirkland

As a teenager I lulled myself to sleep with fantasies of a literary life. Lying in my white four-poster bed, I’d stare at the ceiling and imagine myself other places:

On glamorous vacations with other writers, feeling like part of the club.

Giving keynote speeches at universities, followed by parties with free-flowing wine and copious cheeses.

Being told I was genius, that I’d written a great American work of art, that I’d changed the world.

Back to reality:...