Many writers publish advice for up-and-comers online. I’ve never felt the need to present myself as an expert, but I realized recently that I have learned things about writing and publishing that others might find helpful. Since many people seek out or enjoy reading advice, I’ve decided to write a series of short blog posts that will highlight some lessons I have learned.

Who am I to be handing out advice? Well, I started writing bad poems and stories as a child and then studied English and American literature and Theater at Brandeis University. I earned a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, with a focus on journalism and magazine writing. Due to a life-long love for animals and wildlife, my goal at the time was to combine my skills and interests to become an environmental journalist.

The first job I got, however, was writing newsletters and other publications for an environmental organization. That led to environmental work filling the first years of my career. At one point I managed the communications and media relations efforts for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, and part of that job was writing a column titled “The Nature of Things,” which appeared in newspapers throughout the state.

Over time, I segued from communications jobs to writing freelance stories for newspapers and small magazines and working for a year as a staff writer for a Denver newspaper. Occasionally I took poetry workshops, and I published a few poems. Eventually, I made my living as a full-time writing contractor doing copywriting, editing, and proofreading work for clients ranging from global companies to marketing and PR agencies.

I had always dreamed of writing a book someday, and sometimes I attempted to do some creative writing. Unfortunately, because I spent years using a formulaic and professional writing style, I found it hard to write creatively. Then something happened to cause me to change course; I was going through a difficult period of my life and experienced the one and only panic attack I’ve ever had. I thought I was having a heart attack, and while I waited for the ambulance, one of the thoughts that raced through my mind was, I never wrote my book.

Within a year I had applied to an MFA program at Pine Manor College in Boston, and that’s where my true education and experience as a creative writer began. I had to re-learn how to write, in a way, as well as learn about the writing process, from producing drafts to publication. After so many years as a professional writer, I hadn’t thought of myself as a “beginner,” but I really had to start from scratch.

Since I graduated from the program in 2010, I have written and published six books with independent presses – a memoir-in-essays, four children’s books, and a collection of micro-fiction — and I have co-edited an anthology of poetry and prose published by the University of Georgia Press. I have published personal essays, fiction, and a number of poems in literary journals, and I have taught creative writing in adult education programs and at two universities, as well as online to children during the pandemic. These eighteen years have been far from easy; the writing life has included plenty of rejection, self-doubt, and frustration. There have been moments when I have felt like giving up. So far I haven’t, and the journey has been highly rewarding.

But what is the point of the writing – or any –  journey if you don’t pay it forward for someone else? This series of blog posts, which I’ll upload periodically on my website, will highlight some of the things about creative writing I have learned. I hope the information will be valuable to someone out there.

My first topic will be pretty basic: “Can you learn to be a good writer, or are you born that way?” Watch this space for the post.