Finding My Own Way Into Stones River ~ M. F. (Mimi) Jones

Recently I read through my journals going back to the ‘70s when I was in college, and the major theme in them, along with a quest for true love, was my longing to write. The problem was, I didn’t know what to write. Truisms like Write what you know, show don’t tell, talent can’t be learned, were wet blankets I threw on my early efforts, stifling them.

So I became an editor, and loved helping writers develop their visions. In 2005 the magazine I worked for laid me off, along with most of the other...