One of my writing groups was selected to read at Litquake next month with our chosen topic: The Shame Chronicles. After spending so much time writing and talking about shame, I’ve started noticing how rarely shame exists alone. It tangles itself up with guilt, desire, intimacy, vulnerability, secrecy, voice, and the body. I was meeting with a mentor recently and thinking about ways to expand my creative life. One idea was to sign up for a stand-up comedy class, so I’ll be doi

I went to a great author panel at the Napa Bookmine earlier this month, featuring five members of the group Write On Mamas and I left feeling unexpectedly hopeful. They began writing together nearly two decades ago, whenthey were all at totally different places in their lives and writing careers. Back then, they wouldn't even have called their writing anything more than a hobby, a secret dream. A spark that burned despite all of their doubts. None had published a book yet. T

This post has been in my draft folder for a million years. Well, since last month. Finally, finally, I'm going to finish it. Even though I'm super broke, and even though I had to break out the old credit card to make it happen, I was able to go to the Lighthouse Litfest Advanced Writing Workshop with Ingrid Rojas Contreras. (The Pulitzer-Prize Finalist awesome writer with crazy-beautiful eyebrows. Yes, that Ingrid Rojas Contreras.) I was super nervous and kept blurting out st

I’m excited to share that I’ve been selected for a 2026 residency at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in Nebraska City, Nebraska. The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center supports writers, visual artists, composers, and interdisciplinary artists from across the country by providing dedicated time and space for creative work. I’ll be spending two weeks in residence working on my memoir-in-essays and other creative nonfiction projects. As someone balancing writing alongsid

I was recently featured in an Author Q&A with The Good Life Review, where I talk about writing, craft, & community. In the interview, we talk about: Balancing life and creativity while working full-time/parenting/ keeping up with my busy reality-TV schedule. The nonfiction piece “Coyote”—published in The Good Life Review and runner-up for the 2023 HoneyBee Prize in Nonfiction—and what I hope it offers to other parents navigating fear, grief, and connection. How writing has he

I went to an amazing reading last night featuring Dr. Mary Catherine (MC) McDonald in conversation with Anne Lamott. MC read from her new book Unbroken (which has been amazing, so far. They talked a lot about healing, survival, and transformation along with new techniques for treatment. I'm especially interested in the connections between writing and trauma: the healing power of writing as well as the stumbling blocks that can be caused by fractured and fragmented memorie

I found this old prompt I wrote to back in December of 2014, and when I re-read it I got just as sad today as I did then. Hard Stuff The...

I’ve been reading about different ways for writers to tap into their subconscious and thought I’d share them with you. Exploring these...

Writers can struggle with staying focused and avoiding distractions, especially social media or email if you are working on your computer. Three solutions to overcome distraction are: Use a timer or a productivity app to stay focused for a set amount of time Create a dedicated writing space that is free of distractions and conducive to focus. Consider using noise-canceling headphones or instrumental music to block out distracting sounds and stay focused. I find it difficult t

Overwhelm: Sometimes, you may get overwhelmed by the amount of research and information that you need to gather and organize. This can make it difficult to know where to start and how to structure the writing. Break down research and information-gathering tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks. Create an outline for your writing project to help organize your thoughts and ideas. (It’s OK if you’re a Pantster and not a Plotter. You don’t have to actually use the outline, ju