The Benefits of Being A Beginner
I am not, and have never been, an artist. I was still in braces when I took my last art class, and I’m pretty sure my mother quietly tossed the results as soon as I moved out of the house. Still,…
Category: Writing
Sounds Like a Story: Music as a Writing Tool
Recently, I fell hard for a new song, “No Rest” by Dry the River. The song was released in 2011, but I just now discovered it, which is how a lot of things work and why it’s disappointing that some people…
Creative Symbiosis
Before I wrote regularly, I made art. My mother was an artist and art teacher, so I guess it was in my DNA. As a child, I drew stories — graphic novels without written words. As a young adult, I…
An Interview with Jessica Treadway, Author of Lacy Eye
By guest contributor, Lisa Borders. A professor of creative writing at Emerson College in Boston, Jessica Treadway’s latest novel, Lacy Eye, was published earlier this month. The novel will also be published in the UK and Australia, and translation rights have been bought…
Friday Feast: Cinderella Story, Narrative Tension, Self-Esteem, and Bad Seeds
There are many versions of Cinderella. I’m fond of the Brothers Grimm version, which includes severed toes and heels and an army of birds who peck out eyeballs. After long hours of toil and trouble, Cinderella weeps and prays at the tree growing on…
Historical Fiction: Leap of Faith
In September 2013 I travelled to Texas to research my novel featuring women flying in World War II. Despite reading nearly every account of The WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) in print, including memoirs and biographies, newspaper clippings, histories of…