“When Nothing Is Lost: Novel Writing and Henry James” If you want to deepen your storytelling, consider this advice from author and essayist Henry James: Be a writer on whom nothing is lost. In the essay “The Art of Fiction,” James advises, “Write from experience, and experience only …”. He then adds, “Try to be […]
Blog
We’re excited to launch this new blog on our site as a forum to share our writers’ work, introduce our instructors, and share our thoughts on the writing process. This week, I’m thinking about Toni Morrison again since watching the moving documentary about her life as a writer, “The Pieces I Am.” Have you watched it yet? As usual, Toni’s words and novel excerpts caused both inspiration and envy. As the writer Crystal Wilkinson wrote, “Toni Morrison makes me want to both write forever and never write again. And it’s always been this way.” Read more...
The Happy Pandemic Hurricane Holiday by Billie Magnuson
Ever since the Hurricane struck Connecticut, I find myself observing how everything could be way worse and everything could be way better. Without power there is nobody to call and whine with, but… Fortunately, now there are plenty of hours in the day. Unfortunately, the days are long. Fortunately, we have a dependable house to […]
Prompt-a-Day Submission
It was a small blue suitcase, nothing to set it apart from so many other suitcases left in the hotel lobby. But this one did not get claimed and by the end of the day Ana placed it behind the counter alongside the leather briefcase, the two umbrellas, and the blue stroller. She was having […]
The Rock Bottom Cycle
Pam had always secretly wanted to and now — she finally did. After all these years of meditating to find her center and watching PBS and carrying The New Yorker tote bag across Central Park while feeding the pigeons organic bird seed, she gave up. She gave the tote bag and yoga mat to a […]
Going Back to School by Elizabeth Kalfayan
Back in March when quarantine first started, everything switched to online, including school. Parents quickly became the teachers and had to learn how to do everything virtually. College students had to leave their schools and return to their homes to finish the semester remotely and had to try to teach themselves a lot of course […]