I’ve wanted/dreamed/struggled for years to find a literary agent. I remember sitting in a quiet corner of the Northgate branch of the Seattle Public Library, hunched over a table with The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit (Elizabeth Lyon) lying open beside me as I tried to painstakingly write out a query letter. Every sentence was agony. It was like learning a new language in which I…
“I can only tell you what my journey has been. Yours will be different,” my mentor friend, Brian, tells me as I grip my coffee cup across the table from him. We’re meeting because I wanted advice. Wisdom. The next steps. I wanted to sit at the feet of a sage and become excited about the next climb ahead of me. The reality? There’s a lot…
I met her at freshman orientation. She and I had both circled a long list of identical activities from a series of opportunities designed to help us explore our new university campus. We wanted to see all the same things. It was a sign. (I love looking for signs!) She told me, over lunch a few days later, that she felt we’d known each other…
In almost all of the good stories about an adventurer on a quest, that adventurer is supported by a fellowship, a community, a village of those who love this quester and wish to see him or her succeed. Last weekend my village rallied together. My fundraiser dinner went off like a sparkling firecracker. It was a beautiful success. A huge number of people offered to help.…
It was one of those synchronistic moments—she and I had chosen a long list of exactly the same presentations to attend as part of our freshman orientation, but then it surpassed a funny coincidence. We couldn’t stop talking. She asked me about my family, and though I answered with the usual bits of info (number of my siblings and their ages), she immediately told me about…
I was gasping through the Seattle Marathon when I saw a friendship that drew tears from my eyes. *Clears throat* To be perfectly honest, I didn’t run the full course. My husband and I joined my cousin, the real marathon-runner, at Mile 20 to encourage her. I saw a fifty-year-old man running barefoot, women chatting to keep their minds off the pain, a father and little…
Step 1: Collect the following ingredients: 4-6 passionate friends who get along and want to develop their creative goals House, cabin, or hotel, preferably beautiful and cheap (Ask your friends if they know someone who will offer it for free) Edibles to cover three days of meals for all Miscellaneous clothes Writing essentials (Laptop, notebook, pens, playlists, headphones) Step 2: Carefully mix the above ingredients, then…
Today I introduce you to my good friend Will. We originally met through a shared love of swing dancing. Later, after I graduated college and he went on to grad school in journalism, we collided at a mutual friend's writing group. Will’s sense of humor and devotion to uplifting, encouraging, and supporting his friends makes him a magnetic leader. He constantly strives to make everyone laugh…
Last week, I sat in a circle of six women who’d gathered on a blanket under twin pine trees under a summer sky to save a friendship. If you’ve lived past the age of seven, you know how a friendship can go awry from an angry word, a lazy forgetfulness, a lie, etc. What the world needs more of is love, and especially the brave love…
I’ve been making these trips to Mexico for 13 years now, and I've never had stories that made me cry like this one. Jahir (Yah-EER) was the second eldest child of the family who received a house from my team. He was a perfect model of gentle courtesy. He shook hands to greet me and looked me in the eye whenever we spoke. When our American…