Bailey White & Belonging

I used to think writers needed intense life experiences for their work to be valid. Surviving childhood trauma, death of loved ones, grinding poverty, violence, or illness was necessary to produce lasting, meaningful work. Now I think this is BS. First, sadness and joy come with being human—like fries with a BLT at a roadside…

Creative Work for the Greater Good

Critique can hurt, especially when it comes to writing. A former client would always reply, “It's a good start" or "It's on the right track" to my drafts, no matter how much I applied their comments from earlier pieces to each new one. Even though my successive drafts were so polished that they shone like…

Comma Drama

What does the word “craft” bring to mind? A small boat? A potter’s studio? Pom poms and glue sticks? One of my first memories of watching someone practicing a “craft” was at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival long ago. My family and I joined a crowd under a large white tent. A sweaty man wearing a…

Achievement Unlocked: My First Rejection Letter

I recently started to submit little stories and pitches to magazines. Recently, as in February. So I’m proud to announce that I have received my first rejection letter for my personal work. Now I can join the ranks of writers like Stephen King and Paulette Perhach. King would put his rejection letters on a nail…

Dear Reader (A Personal Story)

I do my personal writing from 7am to 8am each morning. The other day I was typing up an idea I got from flipping through my journal. I had noticed a common thread in most entries: I would jot down what my husband and I had talked about or watched that evening and if we…