Category Archives: Writing Process

From Beer to Eternity

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Ann C. Averill

I just read Gary Morland’s From Beer to Eternity, a little story of addiction and beyond, and was instantly hooked by the tell-it-like-it-is voice of the narrator who I knew instantly was going to tell me the no-nonsense truth about … Continue reading →

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Over the Edge of Doubt

Posted on October 6, 2020 by Ann C. Averill

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Anyone remember this ditty my teacher taught us to introduce explorers of the New World? When my youngest daughter was the same age, she crafted a two-foot papier mâché Christopher Columbus for a … Continue reading →

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Backwards and Forwards

Posted on August 14, 2020 by Ann C. Averill

       “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward.” This is a quote from the movie, The Experimenter, part of my pandemic movie-thon. When I googled the quote’s source, I found Soren Kierkegaard, a Christian philosopher, … Continue reading →

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Staycation

Posted on August 9, 2020 by Ann C. Averill

These past two weeks I’ve been on a staycation, a pandemic vacation. That means I’ve disconnected from my regular duties and routines and done things that refreshed me body and soul while staying mostly at home. So, I binge watched … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash memoir, Spiritual Growth, Uncategorized, Writing Process | 4 Comments

The Onion Principle

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Ann C. Averill

Understanding life happens in layers. I’ll call this the onion principle. You think you know how things work and what is important and then it is disproved or refined by experience, and another layer of the onion is stripped away … Continue reading →

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Is it Done Yet?

Posted on July 3, 2020 by Ann C. Averill

How do you know when you’re ready to publish something you feel absolutely compelled to write? For memoir writers, especially, this question is paramount. This week I watched Michele Cushatt interviewed by Emily Freeman of Hope Writers and found answers … Continue reading →

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Gold Mine

Posted on June 19, 2020 by Ann C. Averill

At this critical juncture in our national dialogue about race, I remember, a few years back I picked up Go Set a Watchman, purportedly a new novel by Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird. I purchased it on … Continue reading →

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Calculating the Truth

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Ann C. Averill

I recently read, The Memoir Project by Marion Roach Smith. In it she emphasizes that a memoir is not about the author. It is about a central theme, and a select portion of the author’s life simply illustrates that theme. … Continue reading →

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The Red Cross

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Ann C. Averill

As a brand-new Hope*writer I was struck by Gary Morland’s piece, “Self-Protection or Saving Lives.” Gary uses the analogy of a lifeguard who sits high above the beach on a lifeguard chair with a red cross flag flying overhead. The … Continue reading →

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Write On

Posted on May 8, 2020 by Ann C. Averill

The other day, I was feeling stuck and discouraged. At times, what writer isn’t? So I chatted with a writer friend who asked me these questions: Why did I write? What do I hope to achieve? What do I want? … Continue reading →

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