I was first introduced to Salman Rushdie in a college literature class where we read Midnight’s Children. His novels usually combine historical fiction and magical realism to explore heavy personal, political, and cultural themes. While Rushdie’s writing is not an easy read, he’s become one of my favorite writers. After reading his memoir, Joseph Anton,… Read more »
The clinical definition of intergenerational trauma, also sometimes referred to as multigenerational trauma, is trauma that is “passed down from the generation that experienced the trauma to subsequent generations.” These traumas exist in many forms—they are the aftermaths of war, sexual and physical abuse, drug abuse, and suicides. Other family traumas, such as family secrets,… Read more »
Do you rebel against yourself? Me too. Sometimes I have to trick myself. I’ll decide to do something that seems so good for me. I’ll purchase books and watch webinars and do the research and decide, That’s it! That’s the thing that will change my life for the better! Then, as I embark upon the… Read more »
My mission of self-discovery began when I started documenting my journey through breast cancer. But it did not end there. The more I wrote, the more I learned. I initially wanted to know why my breast cancer diagnosis set off such a wave of sorrow inside me. Why was my past trauma fast and furiously… Read more »
Much of the space in this column has been devoted to the craft of historical fiction, the details that need to be accurate in our stories, and words of wisdom from some best-selling authors in our genre. So I thought it might be interesting to turn our attention to another challenge we all have: how… Read more »
Certain words keep writers up at night. They live in the darkest corners of the dictionary and carry with them anxiety and dread. For me, one is particularly ominous. Quitter. Let’s be honest. Writing is swimming upstream with a thousand pounds of hope, expectations, and manuscripts strapped firmly to your back. Publishing is a subjective… Read more »
When people ask me to talk about my book, The Devil Makes Three, the question of genre always comes up. Now, it’s somewhat obvious simply because it’s practiced: I write horror. This book is horror. That’s not quite how it started, though, and it was a long road to get there. When pitching books, we… Read more »
Hi, writers! Today, I want to talk about some of the strategies I use to generate ideas and inspiration, especially when I have a deadline to meet. Before starting grad school, my “writing schedule” typically involved waiting around for the perfect idea to strike. I didn’t have a set writing schedule, and I spent a… Read more »
We all play games. We use games to break the ice, pass the time, or as a buffer in awkward family gatherings. I use games (especially tabletop games) to make new friends, and deepen my understanding of the people in my life. Games show people at their best and at their worst. They reveal hidden… Read more »
I’ve been having such a hard time doing anything productive. All I want to do is sip a cold drink and read…yet my attention span isn’t super great right now either. Thank you, August heat. (We’re actually having a bit of a weird cool spell at the time of this writing, but whatever.) I haven’t… Read more »
