As I was organizing my office this week to prepare for the new workshop season, I came across a little spiral notebook full of gems. In...

Holly Peterson has been coming to my "Writing from the Heart" workshop in Purcellville for several years now. An accomplished artist and...

A lot of people are frightened by the very idea of writing a poem, and who can blame them? Visions of high school English papers dripping...

This morning when I read the news I was overwhelmed with rage and sorrow. Two more black men—Alton Sterling and Philando Castile—killed...

I met Pamela Schmidt in my women's Amherst Writers & Artists workshop, "Writing from the Heart," in Purcellville, VA. A passionate,...

Last Friday I took myself on an artist date, to use the lingo of Julia Cameron. I hadn’t planned on it. I thought I was just going to pop...

Recently I was discussing the “if money were no object” scenario with a friend, and I remarked, “if money were no object, I would go to a...

I met Laura Stapleton in my "Jump Start Your Writing" workshop through the Loudoun County Public Schools Adult Education program. As you...

It’s always tough to write about family. Well, not the writing part—the publishing part. Feelings can get hurt. Relationships can get...

Every now and then I find a writing prompt that is so much fun it requires wider sharing. Mood Ring, from Writing from the Senses: 59...

“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” ― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own A few weeks ago a...

This week I have the pleasure of showing off TWO talented friends and writers. Singer/songwriter Roger Tomhave cowrote a wonderful song...

As I was scrolling through my iPhone news feed last week I stumbled across this article: "Sally Field Answers Vanity Fair's Proust...

There’s nothing like a roof leak to show you where the cracks are—in your home and in your life. On a Monday morning a few weeks ago, we...

I enjoy everyone who comes to my writing workshops—after all, they are my tribe! But I must confess a particular fondness for people who...

The first thing I want to say about Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear is “buy it.” Her advice is honest,...

Last week I bought Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. Gilbert is most famous for Eat, Pray, Love, but my...

Like most writers, I am a bibliophile. I don’t say this lightly: every room in my house, including bathrooms, has books piled and...

I met Marion in my “Jump Start Your Writing” workshop, which I led through the adult education program at Loudoun County Public Schools....

Last Monday afternoon was the first meeting in 2016 of “Writing from the Heart,” a women’s AWA workshop in Purcellville. I like to start...