Here you’ll find some of the craft and writing tips that have been shared over my years of editing and teaching writing.
Memory & Story: A Writing Exercise
This past week I taught a workshop on Memory and Story through the Hennepin County Library and St. Louis Park Senior Program. I announced right away that this was a workshop and we were going to learn by doing--and boy, did we! Seventeen writers, two days, and lots of...
Best Gift for a Writer
This weekend, my wonderful partner, Scott, and I celebrated our five-year anniversary. After I opened my present, I asked what had led him to the Oxford English Dictionary. He had done a search for the best gift for a writer, and what came up on all the top ten lists...
Writing Classes: Story & Memory, Time & Place
I'll be teaching two writing classes in St. Louis Park, MN in the coming weeks. Story and Memory is first at the St. Louis Park Library and the Lenox Community Center. Here's the workshop description: Story and Memory: Are you full of interesting memories, but aren't...
Debuts
Saturday I went to the Rain Taxi Book Fair, where I was proud to be part of two debuts! JoAnn Bren Guernsey's chapbook, Tangled Strings, published by Red Bird Chapbooks made its first public appearance. I was editor and designer for the book. And my favorite...
Method Writing
How far would you go to create a character? Have you ever pretended to be that character, speaking in his voice? Walking around the room the way he walks to get a feel for those motions before you try to put them into words? Journaling as that character to better...
My Midwestern Gothic Author Profile
Midwestern Gothic runs profiles of its authors. You can get to know them along with reading their works. My story, "Creatures," is in issue 10, and here is my profile at midwestgothic.com. Find out about Henry Humbug and who I'd have coffee with.
Saying No
Do you have a problem saying no? I sure do. I say yes to all kinds of things, often without thinking about whether that is the right thing for me. I say yes because I like the person asking, because I feel obligated, because I would feel guilty saying no,...
Creatures Will Be Published!
My short story "Creatures" will be published in the next issue of Midwestern Gothic! I am especially excited for several reasons: 1. "Creatures" is part of the collection I'm working on. "The Herd," which will be in this year's Water~Stone Review, is the title story...
What It Takes to Get a Story Published
I am so excited to announce that “The Herd” has been accepted by Water~Stone Review for the 2013 issue. Let me tell you about “The Herd.” In August of 2010, Scott and I took the kids camping near Taylor’s Falls. We went to the beach at Lake O’ the Dalles in...
Fiction Depot
Fiction Depot is a great new resource for writers and readers of fiction developed by Gary Smith, a writer I have had the pleasure to work with at Hamline University and beyond. Fiction Depot is a new form of literary hub--a site devoted to readers and writers...
I'm Alida
I help people express their gifts to the world.
I do not believe in formulas. I believe that the stories we are compelled to tell the world make demands on us, and it is our privilege to meet those demands in order to reach the most people in the most authentic and compelling way possible.
