my writing process

I haven’t posted in a couple of weeks, but I have been writing blog posts in my head, so hopefully you will see a flurry of activity here soon. Today I’m going to talk a little bit about my writing and my process. The wonderful Rachael Hanel invited me to join a writing process meme.…

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on the go

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me between my Motherhood & Words retreat at Faith’s Lodge and AWP in Seattle. But like always, both events left me inspired to write and teach and write some more. The retreat was incredible despite the ice/snow storm that loomed on the forecast for our travel day.…

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sarah m. wells – an interview

I was startled awake this morning by the incessant beeping of my old-school alarm. We’ve grown lazy—all of us—sleeping in until 8 a.m. many of these last 17 days. But once I got over the affront of the 6 a.m. wake-up, I jumped out of bed, ready to get back into a routine—my routine. Donny…

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this week

This is the week that I promised myself I would dive back into the novel. What novel? you ask. I know. I’ve asked myself the same thing. What? I’m writing a novel? I almost forgot about that sad, neglected thing. (Okay, I didn’t really forget about it; if I had it wouldn’t be a source of…

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on being brave

I’ve been thinking a lot about silencing lately, about the ways that we, all of us, but especially women, are afraid to say what we need to say, to write what we need to write. Earlier this fall, as the release of Ready for Air loomed, I began to feel more and more anxious. I…

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on craft, writing and motherhood

I have a blog post cooking in my head in honor of November as Prematurity Awareness Month, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. (Sunday was actually World Prematurity Day, but I was en route from Chicago after a weekend of successful workshops and some lovely time with my step-brother and his family, so…

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looking forward

Every morning this week, after Donny and I have walked the girls to the bus stop, I’ve said, “Ah, I love to work at home.” And I do. There is no rushing to shower and get dressed, no driving across town to sit in an either too hot or too cold office, no trying to…

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and that's why

This morning the doorbell rang at ten o’clock. A FedEx driver handed me a thin package. When I turned it over I saw that it was from University of Minnesota Press, my publisher. I tore it open and there it was—my book. The cover is so smooth, matte finish, just as I’d hoped. It’s paperback,…

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shifting gears

Today marked the beginning of the great emptying of the house. Stella went back to school and D went back to work, and on Wednesday Zoë will begin kindergarten. KINDERGARTEN! She’s a little worried, I think, about making new friends and learning a new system. A couple of times in the last week she’s mentioned…

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finding my way back

Happy New Year, friends. I hope you enjoyed the holidays. Christmas for me was busy, as it always is, but it was full of good cheer and lots of family. Then over New Year’s we spent five days at my mom’s cabin in Northern Minnesota. It was cold up there, but sunny. Each day I…

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