Dear Writer, Its easy to freeze up when were writing for the faceless masses or the random reader who happens upon our words. What do we say to all those people? How can we speak with heart to

Lets look at the pros and cons of using writing prompts to decide if were fostering creativity or frittering away time. I remember the pleasure of writing about ladybugs for my high school freshm

Children gaze at a vast blank wall and see opportunityinspired, they grab a permanent marker and scrawl across the surface in loopy circles and jaggedy lines without hesitation. Why, then, do we

When I was visiting my grandmother one summer afternoon, she pulled out a letter I sent her. "This is good," she said. "Really?" She pointed at the paragraphs and said the ideas were well o

Just as musicians credit their musical influences, writers, too, have literary inspirations who help them discover and shape their unique voice. At a White House event for poets in 2011, Billy Coll

On a sunny spring day, I sat with seven homeschoolers on a stretch of grass for a creative writing session. The older kids started to fidget before we even started. "What are we doing out here?"

Jennifer Dukes Lee invites you to transform into a better writer through beautifully ruthless self-discovery. It starts in the pages of your journal. In a recent interview, she delves into t

During the early years of parenthood, I wasted a lot of time feeling sorry for myself. Why can't I have my own dedicated writing space? Why can't I have blocks of uninterrupted time? The overwhe

Nearly everyone who writes personal stories in any form has agonized over how much to share. Will writing about an issue from childhood break Mom's heart? Should I change the name of a high scho

As writers, we spend countless hours crafting and refining our work to perfection. We labor over word choices, sentence structure, and the perfect flow. Despite our best effortseven after a pass t