My favorite things, Aug. 4: True Story, women’s body image, and an essay a day
“Stumbling Into Joy,” by Kate Hopper, True Story Issue #29. Kate is a Minnesota treasure, author of Use Your Words: A …
Tag Archives: essays
My favorite things: July 21 edition
I’m resurrecting my “favorite things” series that I had started a couple of years ago. There’s just too much great …
Writing, reading, and Marla Gibbs
I’ve returned to my Camilla Hall manuscript now that the academic year is over. I don’t have anything profound to …
Essay collection review: All the Wild Hungers by Karen Babine
What do you do when life ceases to make sense? When your 65-year-old mom is diagnosed with a childhood cancer, …
Ek….what? Writing about art in nonfiction
In my MASS436 Specialized Writing class at MSU-Mankato on Monday, I introduced students to ekphrasis — writing about art. We …
3-Act structure for nonfiction (Part I)
How the 3-act structure looks for fiction (taken from https://www.nownovel.com/blog/three-act-formula-novels/). The 3-act structure is a common form for storytelling. Movies and …
Writing about peace
I’m honored to be part of this “Folios” edition of the journal War, Literature & the Arts. My friend, Jesse Goolsby, edited …
What are your favorite “discovery” memoirs?
I couldn’t have said it better myself, so I’m not really going to try. I encourage you to read this …
The 10 Stages of an Essay
My essays go through 10 stages on their way toward completion.
One phrase you don’t need to write in memoir
Are you using these two simple words that only serve to create distance between you and the reader?
If You Have Five Seconds to Spare 