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First Person

This space hosts personal essays and memoirs from writers who wish to tell the world why they write, what writing means to them, or interesting life stories related to writing.

 "Write Tight-- or It's Gonna Cost You!" by Diane Sonntag

"Literary Relations" by Dawn Allcot

"So, You're a Writer . . ." by Kathryn Schleich

"Writer Blocked" by Mimi Greenwood Knight

"It's All in the Mind" by Nayna Chakrabarty

"Writing for Her" by Mimi Greenwood Knight

"This Writing Game" by Lori A. Basiewicz

"Lessons from a First Editor" by Paula Tarnapol Whitacre

 

"Somewhere Only We Know: The Lonely Life of a Writer" by Samantha Clements

 

"Caution: Door Opens Without Warning" by Sage Cohen 

 

"Mold, Mosquitoes, and Swarming Fruit Flies" by Shea McCandless

 

"One Day at a Time" by R. Ginger Robinson

"A Coach for All Seasons: My Journey from the Coaching Sidelines into the Game" by Linden Gross

"I.M. Free" by LaShawn M. Wanak

"The Long and Winding Road to Freelance Success" by Sheila Scarborough

"For Writers: The Ultimate Reward" by Aaron Paul Lazar

"Hello? Is Anybody There?" by Daphne Dykeman

 

"Writing Ban" by Michael Harling

 

"Cult of the Written Word" by Lori Basiewicz

"Timing is Everything" by J.A. McDougall

"First Story Blues" by Carol Kehlmeier

"Writing a Marathon" by Stephanie R. Kinnon

"Christmas at Michael's," excerpted from A Writer's San Francisco by Eric Maisel

"On Publishing Purgatory" by Robin Friedman

"The Worst Thing About Writing" by Karen Fenech

"How to Critique Bad Writing" by Claire Armstrong

"Why I Love My Writer's Group" by Mimi Greenwood Knight

"Writer's Spew" by Scott Baker

"A Copy Editor's Lament" by Teri Zucker

 

"Crawling into Summer" by Doug Miller

 

"It All Started With One Hundred and Forty-One Books...." by C. Jewel Watson

 

"Letting Go" by Makasha Dorsey

 

"I Haven't Got the Legs for Dancing" by Mike Calahan

 

"Persistence" by Mark Terry

 

"Writing With Friends" by Carol Hoenig

 

"Defining the 'Real' Writer" by Aaron Lazar
 

"Procrastination-- But I Have to Alphabetize Those Spices..." by Nancy K. LaFever

 

"The Writing Room" by Lesley Hershman

 

"Passion and Pain of the Write Life" by Monette Bebow-Reinhard

 

"They Don't Call Me Shanny-Poopshoe for Nothin'" by Shannon Chapel, RN

 

"Inspiration Up to My Eyeballs" by Jenn Root

 

"What Would Susan Orlean Do?" by John Liebhardt

 

"Writing in Exchange for Bread on the Table" by Marsha Maung

 

"Lesson from a Litter Box" by Brandy Stoner

 

"Write, Write, Write" by Brittany Kingston

 

"The Internet Changed My Writing Life" by Connie Werner Reichert

 

"Writer Turns Bunny Killer" by Harriet Cooper

 

"Snow White and the Seven Drafts" by Pedro de Alcantara

 

"Path to Publication" by Renee Russell

 "The Critic-- A Writer's Best Friend?" by Bass Mitchell

"Crazy and Sure" by Kelly Pollard

"Writing about Family-- A Sacred Cow or Smorgasbord?" by Holly Cardamone

"Writing for Life" by Elizabeth Eidlitz

"Six Reasons to Be Grateful We Are Writers" by Brandy Stoner

"I Write Fiction… So Sue Me" by Nayna Chakrabarty

"The Madeleine in My Closet" by Flora Lalanne

"A Christmas Offer with Dividends" by Mary Terzian

"Real Writers Really Work" by Diane Sonntag

"Surviving a Rejection Tsunami" by Roy A. Barnes

"Dog is My Copilot" by Susanne Shaphren

 "A Different Fear of Rejection" by Rachel Hartman

"Hotels and Gangsters: Elements of Research in the Writing of Escaping Reality" by Geoff Nelder

"The Book Launch - One Survivor’s Story" by Lauri Kubuitsile

"Thoughts on 30" by Tom Waters

"The Zen of Rejection" by Magdalena Ball

"The Death of an Adverb" by Sandra McGarrity

"Getting Googled Can Be an Education" by E.D. Easley

"If the Truth Be Told" by Elizabeth Eidlitz

"My Harshest Critic: How a Blistering Review of My First Book Silenced the Critic Within" by Maureen Anderson

"The Hard Lemonade Incident" by Tom Sanders

"No Time to Write?" by Sherryl Clark

"So, You Want to be a Writer?" by Babs Halton

"Swim, Run, and Bike for the Book" by Biff Mitchell

"No Rules, Just Write" by Jeanne M. Fielding

"Mr. K and How He Did Not Influence My Writing: A True Story" by Diana Bocco

"My Best Ideas are All Wet" by Sue Marquette Poremba

"A Page a Day Keeps the Block Away" by Nettie Hartsock

"The Crock Pot Revelation" by Stacia Deutsch

"A First Acceptance That Paid" by Patricia Davis

"Why I Am Stuck Doing E-mail Interviews" by Meryl K. Evans

"Writing the Follow-up Novel -- You Aren’t Really a Sophomore" by Richard Cox

“Why I Chose to Write" by Kathryn O'Neill

"Sifting the Slush Pile" by Sara E. Polsky

"Confessions of a Keyword Writer" by Sarah Skilton

"Surgical Lights? A Writer's Awakening" by Joanne D. Kiggins

"Writer's Block" by Mary Garden

"They Rejected My Story Today" by Jessica Bougher

"Still the One" by Jim Falletta

"Give Yourself a Kick in the Pants" by Mike Morris

"Help! My Muse is Missing" by Carol Sharpe

"In the Jungle: How Writing Saved My Life" by Joy Rothke

"Why I Write" by Robert Villanueva

"Judging Mentally" by Lizbeth Finn-Arnold

"Catch a Poet's Draft: A Poem" by Phyllis Edgerly Ring

"Down A Writer's Road" by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

"Writer's Block" by Charles Langley

"Life of an Almost Writer" by Myeisha Thompson

"Winter in a Writer Wonderland" by Pamela White

"Writer: Will Work for Beans" by Larry Jer

"Diplomatic Impunity" by John Liebhardt

"Dry Dock: When Real Life Takes Writers Ashore" by Sarojni Mehta-Lissak

"Metamorphosis" by Susan Stephenson

"Technically Speaking (Plain and Simple)" by Sandra Bynum-Lewis

"Life’s a Pitch" by Dana Biscotti Myskowski

"Poetry Workshop" by Paula Knoderer Hrbacek

"Minding the Gap" by Margaret Mills

"Keeping a Journal in Tumultuous Times" by Barbara Stahura

"One Writer's Legacy" by Madonna Dries Christensen

"How To Unscramble an Egg Yokel, Locally" by Irene Culver

"Where Real Support Comes From!" by Debra Soles  

"Celebrate Your Book's Small Successes" by Lori Hein

"How the Silly Can Become the Sublime" by Robin Svedi

"Baseball, Fishing, and Writing" by Susan Remson

"This Matter of Mood" by Bruce Elkin

"Writing Past the Pain" by Susan Snively

"Someone Moved the Goal Posts" by Elaine Ingalls Hogg

"The Revenge of a Writer trained as an Engineer" by Nana Yaa Larbi

"Missed Opportunity" by Mary Terzian

"Quit Taking Classes and Write Already! (or The Paranoid Writer)" by Dawn C. Pitsch

"Falling Back in Love with Writing" by Melanie Bowden

"Writing, a Solitary Endeavor?" by Art Montague

"Thoughts on a Bicycle Going Nowhere" by Susanne Shaphren

"Ronny's Book" by Judith A. Chance

"Sick Day: An Unexpected Illness Derails a Few Deadlines" by Lisa B. Samalonis

"Green Pen Day" by Charmian Christie  

"Baggy, the Anorexic Elephant" by Lorraine Archer

"Discretion Is Not the Better Part of Biography" by Steve Newman

"A Writer’s Life" by Dvora Waysman

"My Computer is in a Coma" by Cheryl Wright

"The Other Side" by JA Howe

"A Moment of Inspiration" by Kieran Piacenti

"A Secret Reason to Write" by Pamela White

"Gimme an 'A!'" by Amy Brozio-Andrews

"Some Days I Ponder" by Sandra E. Webber

"About Seeds and Blossoms" by Daniela Ginta

"My Tools" by Barbara Lynn Soden

"The Hardest Thing I Ever Had to Write" by Betty Winslow

"Getting There (and why it helps to have an accomplice)" by Garrie Keyman

"Sunflower Stories" by Noreen Braman 

"Linking up with The Freelance Life" by Lisa Samalonis

"Living to Write, Writing to Live" by Sandy Williams Driver

"Greeting Rejection at the Door" by Tracy Baginski McGinnis

"Desert Winds and the Anima of Editors" by Mary M. Munro 

"Find Your Writing Bliss" by Monette Louise Bebow-Reinhard

"What an Adventure!" by Aneeta Sundararaj

"Under the Lamplight of Fame, Or: How I Handled One Heckler" by Christina Kiplinger Johns

"Writing From One Point of View" by Jo Fulkerson

"The Rejection File, or How I Track Submissions in Order to Stay Sane" by Deidre Woolard

"The Agony and the Ecstacy" by Deborah Dee Simmons

"Why I Write Commercial Fiction" by Steve Fey

"Measuring Up" by Amy Brozio-Andrews

"Tale of a Modern-Day Writer" by Garett R. Nadrich

"Breaking Yourself Up Into Your Characters" by Bob Yehling 

"Recording a Real Life" by Stephanie King

"Grappling with English" by Mary Terzian

"Coach" by Laurie Levinger

"Don't Throw Open the Windows-- Open the Door!" by Anne E. Skalitza

"The Chaos of Creativity" by Susan Stroh

"New Life, New Body" by Strella Jasper

"How Reruns Help Me Write" by Caroline Barden

"Disappointed Writer" by Carol Kehlmeier

"Hollywood & Mom?" by Lizbeth A. Finn-Arnold

"The Pain/Pleasure Principle of Freelance Writing" by David Polochanin

"On Writing Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi, as told to Pantheon staff

"What I Learned at the Writers' Conference" by Dr. Patricia Ferguson  

"The Day I Knew I Was a Writer" by Debbie Holland

"Diverse Writing Group Leads to Success" by Valerie Smart

"I'm Proud of What Goes on Inside My Head" by Fatima Aly Jaffer

"The Mark of an Uneducated Mind" by Anika Logan

"It's a Seesaw" by Cheryl Wright

"Writing is the Water of Life" by Frederick Su

"Good God, What Have I Done?" by Jan Weeks

"They Laughed at Noah, Too" by Vickie Phelps

"Writing and the Act of Healing: More Questions than Answers" by Kari Ann Owen

"Using Rejection" by Patrick Riley

"The Novice Humorist" by Gargi H. Choudhury 

"Spousal Jealousy" by Uma Girish

"Embracing Rejection" by Angela D. Connor

"Dear Son: What Do You Think of Stanza Four?" by Terry Miller Shannon 

"Looking After Your Literary 'Children'" by Chrissie Ward

"Join the Club" by Wendy Dale

"The Slow Renovation" by Resmi Shaji

"Script into Novel - The High Concept 'Scrovel'" by William Dennenberg

"Talk Writing" by Carol Kehlmeier

"Why I’ll Always Buy Girl Scout Cookies" by Paula Lesso

"Writer's Block is No Longer a Problem" by Ovi Dogar

"Learn to Territorialize" by Carol Kehlmeier

"On Your Feet: Speaking events: a view from the front line" by Richard Meredith

"Turning a Page" by Uma Girish

"In the Eye of the Beholder" by Alaina Alexander

"Letter Perfect" by Tom Bentley

"Confessions of a Writing Contest Junkie" by Sharon L. Cook

"The Write Time is Now" by P. J. Davis

"Sex Sells, and Sells" by Vonna Harper

"Leaving A Legacy:  Author's Words Live on to Encourage and Inspire Others" by Tina L. Miller

"I'm a Writer, Not an Underwriter" by Chris Joseph

"My Journey from Barnes & Noble to Random House: How the Writing Section of the Bookstore Changed My Life" by Wendy Dale

"Author Laments The State of Literary Reading, Literary Publishing, Literary Support" by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

"Stephen King Told Me to Quit" by Joyce Keller Walsh

"Why Art?" by Joseph Devon

"My First Conference: Learning More About Conferences Than Writing" by Dr. Patricia Ferguson

"How to Tell if You Are a Literary Snob" by David Leonhardt 

"You are a Masterpiece-- Never Stop Learning" by Elaine Hopper

"Men in Black with 3-inch Heels... (or something like that)" by Deborah Dee Simmons 

"You Will Be Inspired!" by Donna Marrin

"The Silence of Night" by Anika Logan

"So You Want To Be A Writer!" by Rhoda Ferber

"The Phantom Query" by Victoria Groves

"Let the Clips Fall Where They May" by Larry Jer

"Short Diary of a Three-Day Novel" by Mary Case

"Unpublished And Pining Away" by Amy Eastburn

"Set Yourself Down: On Completing Your Novel" by Julene Snyder

"A Not-So-Healthy Fear of the Famous" by Martin D. Trees

"Mining For Gold In Your Own Backyard" by Bex Hall

"Perseverance" by Joanne D. Stanko 

"The Crazy Writing Life" by Terry Loncaric

"Freelancing From Here and There" by Roberta Beach Jacobson

"The Melting Pot" by Mekhola Majumdar

"Seminary Happens" by Teresa Blythe

"A Writer's Earring" by Natasha Gapinski

"KoZ, Screenwriter" by KoZ

"To Mentor or not to Mentor.  That is the Question" by Meghan Sapp

"Writing Lessons" by Barbra G. Francisco

"Finally, The Wait Was Over" by Pamela Dillon 

"To Follow a Dream" by Preethi Nair

"ME, On Writing" by MaryBeth Gokee-Hodnett

"How I Turned Rejection Into Publication" by Catherine Wald

"Wobbling Words" by F.R.R. Mallory


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