SHELLI JOHNSON
Well, I burned through a few boyfriends on the way to my husband, mostly because I had no idea what I was doing. If I could write a manual, a kind of how-to dating manifesto, and give it to my single self, here are some things it would say:
1. FIND YOURSELF FIRST
You need to [...]
Well, a year ago today, I started blogging.
I started because I thought I had some things to say, sure, but also because I wanted to build a sense of community, someplace where I could belong, too. To paraphrase writer Anne Lamott, I wanted to cobble together a kind of odd little family out of [...]
FAVORITE WRITING ADVICE:
“Slow down & SEE it.”
WHO SAID IT:
Ann Hemenway, fiction writing professor (& University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop grad so she knows her stuff)
WHY?
Sometimes going fast is the best thing to do the first time through so you can get it [...]
Have a bunch of too-ripe bananas that nobody will eat? Don’t want to throw them out? Well, here’s a recipe that was supposed to be banana bread but somewhere along the line I made a mistake & it ended up a yummy banana cake. My youngest son declares it a winner! Feeds 8 – 10. [...]
“Remember, what you focus on increases.” ~ Andy Andrews
The other day I caught myself feeling really down.
Spiraling through my head on an unending loop was a list of things I wanted but didn’t have in my life. The more I added to the list, the more frustrated I got & the more my [...]
“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” ~ Aldous Huxley
I’m so thrilled to have the fabulous Derek Flynn on my blog today. He’s just released his debut music CD, Do You Dream At All?
“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” ~ Stephen King
GOOD WRITING:
Reading good writing can teach you about structure, dialogue, pacing, plot, using symbols & imagery to convey a point, you name it. It makes you ask questions like:
How did [...]
“Speaking personally, you can have my gun, but you’ll take my book when you pry my cold, dead fingers off of the binding.” ~ Stephen King
Here are documented scientific reasons about the importance of reading, according to a seminar I once attended given by a neurologist who had been studying the brain for three [...]
“A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar.” ~Stephen King
Most writers have long memories. Some of us may wish we didn’t. But the fact remains that if you cross us, hurt us, humiliate us, [...]
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Shelli Johnson
Grand Prize Winner
What A Kind Word Can Do
Here’s a shout-out to a lovely lady named Ann Best, who became my personal hero one day last month. On the same day I received a comment on my blog that ripped me as a person apart, Ann wrote this comment for me on a guest post I had [...]