by Dori Jones Yang My book, When the Red Gates Opened: A Memoir of China’s Reawakening, brings to life the story of the eight years I spent as a foreign correspondent covering China during a pivotal time in its history, the 1980s. Like good historical fiction, it draws readers inContinue Reading
The biggest emotional challenge of being a writer is willing myself to do the writing. If I don’t just do it, I can’t accomplish any goals. So within that I guess there has to be depression, lack of motivation, anxiety, a feeling of being overwhelmed, a sort of paralysis arisingContinue Reading
by Wendi Lindenmuth In July of 2015, I hosted a cycling ride in my community that connected two of our most popular gravel trails in Polk County, Wisconsin. We decided to ride about 80 miles total, to our destination and then back to the trailhead where we parked. Many ofContinue Reading
by Rebecca Olmstead I had completed my first mystery novel and done a marathon of three writers’ conferences, my first ever, pitching my baby to less-than-enthusiastic agents and editors. Still, I loved my book, the first in a planned series. Nothing was going to stand in the way of myContinue Reading
by Jeff Kuhn The events in Blue Sky Lightening took place 25 to 30 years ago. Many friends told me I should write a book about my two near-death experiences and the battle it took to regain full health. This was 25 years ago, and I was only 35 yearsContinue Reading
by Maryanne Pope “Writing is not life, but I think that sometimes it can be a way back to life.” – Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft On Thursday September 28th, 2000, my husband John and I had an argument while walking our dog. I told himContinue Reading
by Mari L. McCarthy I get a lot of what I call universal messages in my journal. In fact, I uncovered, discovered and recovered my inner writer thanks to my journaling practice. Journaling Helped Me Find My Inner Writer As a little girl I dreamed of being a famous author.Continue Reading
A Writing for Change Featured Post I met Ray at a writer’s gathering in Colorado. He’s written a unique book about his own upbringing as a minority in his community, focusing on his amazing experience of being a part of an elite 13-member team of teenagers from Colorado/Oklahoma that wentContinue Reading
Fortunately for me, I paid my dues with unwise behaviors long ago. For years now, I haven’t eaten sugar or drunk alcohol or used drugs. I still drink loads of coffee, though! During my time herding goats in the mountains of France, I learned how good it feels to liveContinue Reading
A Writing for Change Featured Post I recently received an announcement from one of my publishers, Jupiter Gardens Press, that they had published Sam’s book, I Don’t Dwell. I was inspired by his story and so happy he agreed to share his experience of writing it. At the age ofContinue Reading
I’m so excited and honored to launch this new feature—Writing for Change—with John’s story. He lost his daughter, Casey, to suicide in 2008. He has since become an advocate for suicide prevention, and shares Casey’s story in his book, The Girl Behind the Door. My family had a pretty blessedContinue Reading