My mother was an inspiration to me and the reason I write.  She always wanted to be a writer, but was never able to achieve her dream.  My mom’s gone now, but I have her notebook.  She jotted down her thoughts on life,...

Recently I received conflicting advice regarding internal monologues, and as a result, I've engaged in a running internal monologue of my own. I wrote my latest novel, Bridges, in third person from the point of view of the protagonist. Here...

If you make your living from writing, then you know all too well the struggle of getting paid a decent wage for your skills. There are a lot of factors that go into what you get paid as a writer including your natural ability, education, and...

Behind The Book American Family By Catherine Marshall-Smith   “What a long strange trip it’s been,” pretty much sums up my experience writing American Family. What had changed more, me or my book? American...

At times, writing becomes about using your own personal experience and knowledge to lend your content greater insight and depth. Whether writing fiction or non-fiction, as women we want to express our emotions through the written word. By combining...

I am a writer who chose to dive into life rather than attend college. I left my home on the East Coast to live in Santa Fe, New Mexico. My story after that decision is filled with alterative lifestyle experimentation, having kids, travel,...

Poetry readers may have noticed the increase in recent years of poetry collections that focus on a very narrow theme, or which contain poems that are all linked by a specific device – be it format or structure. The term "project...

I always tell people, “I think everyone should do this.” But with the caveat that you probably should not do it until you’re at least 50 years old, because you might not be able to handle it. It’s no small deal. Telling...

  A women’s writing community is a thing I will always support, encourage and perpetuate in any way I can. Because we’re women.  Women are lovely to each other (mostly) because we’re nurturers and caretakers....