Creativity is miraculous process. No one really knows how it works: a mix of remembered images, curiosity about ‘what if,’ randomly connected sensations and emotions. Craft is in the mix too. And then there is the most enigmatic ingredient of all: Inspiration. How exactly are writers inspired to create? The ingredients are a subtle blend of memory, imagination, small and large societal events and a sense of play while writing. Play, after all, is what humans do best. Arriving at art that we can believe in starts with connecting with a sense of wonder. Playing within the art form of writing requires trust and a celebration of ‘mistakes.’ Exploring those moments can uncover the unexpected. Telling a story the way the story needs to be told is what makes for the kind of book everyone wants to read. Writing has found me when I was lost and put me back together when I was shattered. It is my truest home.

I offer creative writing workshops for writers of all genres and at all levels of skill and experience. The workshop process is based on the method developed by Pat Schneider, founder of Amherst Writers & Artists and author of Writing Alone and With Others. From 2009 – 2017 I was the Executive Director of Amherst Writers & Artists. I am now the AWA Training Director. I provide writing experiences for practiced as well as uncertain writers in a safe, encouraging atmosphere.

My poetry has appeared in 13th moon, Women in Natural Resources, North Dakota Quarterly Review, Peregrine, WriterAdvice, Equinox and Calyx. My prose has appeared in Everyday Fiction, Orion and on WFCR – NPR. I am the author of the novel, Maud & Addie and the poetry book, blessed are the menial chores.

Visit me at Writing Full Tilt