Do you ever want to hit the reset button and begin again? I certainly do, especially when it comes to my writing practice. As many of you...

Where I live in Loudoun County, the snow is falling thickly. According to the forecast, we are supposed to get up to 10 inches, which is...

Sometimes I think I do my best writing on my friend Summer Hardinge’s screen porch. As a writing workshop leader, I have long realized...

“If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” —Woody Allen On Thursday I made the five-hour drive to Milanville,...

In February I went to a yoga and meditation retreat in the mountains of Costa Rica. When I say “in the mountains,” what I mean is that...

It’s the most common of clichés: “Inertia is a powerful force.” Mostly we tend to think of it in terms of exercise. Who hasn’t been in a...

I don't know about you, but I often find myself at this time of year—the twilight between Christmas and New Year's—wondering where the...

Yesterday afternoon I had a brilliant idea: I called my friend Rebecca to see if she wanted to have a writer’s date at the library....

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

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...

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

“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...

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...

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...

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...

On the cusp of a new year, most of us look ahead with a mixture of excitement and trepidation to what we wish to achieve in the months...