by Rochelle Melander Creativity is just connecting things. -Steve Jobs I’m taking a Poetry class this winter with Pomelo books. Our task: to take a subject we know a lot about and write a funny poem using a skill like alliteration, idioms, or synonyms. The challenge has been great fun. It also provided me with...Read More

June 30, 2020   Note From Rochelle   Dear Writers, I’m delighted to welcome poet and writing teacher Erik Fuhrer back to the blog. A few months ago, he wrote a post about writing poetry during the pandemic. He’s the author of four books of poetry including, not human enough for the census. Today he...Read More

Imagine Your Best Life by Rochelle Melander What might it be like to live your best life? What would it be like to be your best possible self? What would you be doing with your days? Where would you be living? Who would you connect with? For the past fifteen years, I’ve asked my clients...Read More

May 29, 2018     The Push and Pull of Writing Prompts By Christi Craig   I have a love-hate relationship with writing prompts.   On one hand, I see them as a critical component to the work. They serve as warm-ups in each of the classes I teach, as a way for participants to...Read More

December 22, 2015   Note From Rochelle   Dear Writers,   Welcome! Last week was…well…challenging. The links I sent for the new ebook were broken, the subscription forms on my new website weren’t working, and as a result, I had to scrap my advertising plans. It’s tempting to act out of our anxiety and rush...Read More

Last month at Dream Keepers, I worked with nine-year-old boy who wanted to write his autobiography. He titled it, “The Challenges of My Life.” I immediately fell in love with his idea—what a brilliant structure for a memoir. When my writing feels stale or I get stuck in the middle of a narrative, sometimes an...Read More

  I’m learning to challenge my body by trying new exercises. So instead of just running every day, I am changing it up—cycling, taking yoga, and lifting weights. I’ve discovered that it also helps to challenge my writing muscles. Instead of writing the same thing day after day, I’ve been playing with new formats and...Read More

Today is Epiphany, and marks the end of the Christmas season for Christians. In my first career, I worked as a Lutheran pastor. In the early days, I ministered at two churches in Western Pennsylvania. Both congregations had the practice of setting out the Nativity set early in Advent. The stable, complete with straw, would...Read More

My 9th grade English teacher loved the word garage. I didn’t get it. For me, the word garage conjured up images of oil spots and old tools. She kept saying, “Listen to the sound, to how the word rolls off your tongue: garage.” This morning as I walked the dog, her words came back to...Read More