The Write Stuff: On Pushcarts, Lorrie Moore, and Writing Past Sixty — BREVITY’s Nonfiction Blog

By Cindy Sams A long teaching day nears its end when a buzz from the phone in my pocket grabs my attention. A covert glance at the screen reveals a text message from my MFA writing mentor at Reinhardt University in Waleska, GA. She announces, simply, “Congratulations!!!” What did I do? Attached to the text […]… Continue reading The Write Stuff: On Pushcarts, Lorrie Moore, and Writing Past Sixty — BREVITY’s Nonfiction Blog

On Memoir Writing: Do We Have to Call It Therapy? — BREVITY’s Nonfiction Blog

By Mary J. Breen I teach memoir classes with seniors. People who hear about these classes are forever telling me how much they approve. “Writing is such good therapy!” they say, one after another. But is it useful to call it therapy? I don’t think so, and I think it’s time we stopped. My students […]… Continue reading On Memoir Writing: Do We Have to Call It Therapy? — BREVITY’s Nonfiction Blog

The Heart of a Story: Writing Toward Voice — BREVITY’s Nonfiction Blog

By Marilyn Bousquin I Early in my writing journey—we’re talking 1980s—I took a creative writing class with a famous novelist professor. One day the class workshopped a story I’d written about an adolescent girl with anorexia. Lo and behold, my classmates liked it. One boy was so captivated by a scene of the protagonist puking […]… Continue reading The Heart of a Story: Writing Toward Voice — BREVITY’s Nonfiction Blog