by Rochelle Melander “Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.” ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estés The news regularly reports tragedies, including multiple mass shootings. Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, founder of Your Local Epidemiologist, reports, “As of...Read More

A Proven Journaling Tool by Rochelle Melander Les Brown said, “Live out of your imagination instead of out of your memory.” TL;DR Summary: This post teaches you the best possible self journaling exercise. In four twenty-minute chunks, write about your life one year from now–in the present tense. When we vision from our memory, we...Read More

by Rochelle Melander Do you ever wish you could travel back in time, and give your younger self a gentle nudge or a kick in the pants? After her mother died suddenly, Ellyn Spragin longed to know how her mother had felt during significant moments or handled difficult situations. Spragin sought answers from women she...Read More

by Rochelle Melander On Saturday evening, I heard my dog digging through my office closet. I turned around to see her move a crate of totes. But she wasn’t finished. After videoing her digging for something, I took a look. She’d hidden one of her dental chews in the closet. As the weekend went on,...Read More

by Rochelle Melander “If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no.” –Saeed Jones Last weekend, I attended the funeral of my daughter’s dear friend. Alexis died at 23 from brain cancer. Before she died, she wrote her own obituary. Because of treatment, she lost some of her sight and hearing. And yet, she...Read More

by Rochelle Melander As we approach the end of the year, it’s helpful to take time to reflect. In Elly Griffiths book, The Stranger Diaries, the protagonist says this about why she keeps a diary: “It’s to make sense of things. … Nothing’s as bad if you put it in writing. It helps you to...Read More

by Rochelle Melander “Art is my cure to all this madness, sadness, and loss of belonging in the world and through it I’ll walk myself home.”― Nikki Rowe On Saturday, I had a book-making table at the library. I watched as a whole community of children rushed around playing with puppets, dancing to drum lines,...Read More

by Rochelle Melander How do you write when you’re scared? You want to write, but you’re scared it won’t be good enough. Maybe examining your own thoughts seems like too much. Or your project is new and big and feels overwhelming. So you avoid writing. You get busy with other things. A week goes by....Read More

by Rochelle Melander It takes courage…to endure the sharp pains of self-discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives. –Marianne Williamson At the end of a year or when we finish a big project, it can be helpful to look at what we’ve accomplished...Read More

August 15, 2023 Note From Rochelle Dear writers, When I published Level Up, I did a smart thing and picked up MockUp Shots—a tool that puts my book in fun shots: on someone’s desk, in their hands, and more. It also does memes, gifs, video trailers, and tons of other cool things, all with your...Read More