Do you ever get stuck in your writing? Or have the feeling your life is too boring to inspire your creativity? I think we’ve all been there, but much like the dreaded writer’s block, I don’t think we should let these negative ideas get too comfortable sticking around. We all have our off moments, but … Read more
If you’re a mom, then you know it looms large in your identity. You are the finder of socks! The cutter of crusts! The only one the baby wants to hold him most days. She who carpools everyone to baseball practice and the movies with their friends. I like to think of my motherly identity … Read more
As we enter into April, we wanted to share this interview with creative nonfiction dynamo, Jennifer Jordán Schaller, who is Plume’s featured writer for May. I met Jennifer because we both teach writing at the same community college, and I have to say that she is as kind as she is talented. Recently, Plume had … Read more
Hello, Plumesters! It’s already time for the AWP Conference. Some of you may be wondering What’s that? The annual Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference, as described on its very own website is: “…an essential annual destination for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers. Each year more than 12,000 attendees join our community for … Read more
I have never been much of a mystery reader. For whatever reason, I was never drawn to them. Even when I worked in a library, was responsible for displays, and had to make sure one of said displays was always a different flavor of mystery every month, I wasn’t interested. Cozy mysteries? Mysteries with pets? … Read more
Our featured writer for April is Cynthia Patton, an accomplished essayist and poet. Cynthia tackles very personal topics in her writing, and we are so honored that she wanted to share this beautiful work with our Plume community. We hope you enjoy our interview with her! Plume: When did you know you were a writer? … Read more
Hello, friends (a.k.a. Plumesters)! We hope that your transition from winter into spring is going well. Over here at Plume we’re busy with our day-to-day operations and with coming up with new ideas for how to foster a supportive writing community. Sometimes, though, it can be easy to forget to slow down a little and … Read more
So, you’ve written a book… If this is the case, first of all–congratulations! Writing a full-length manuscript in any genre is a daunting, all-consuming, audacious task. Be sure to treat yourself to a well-deserved reward.The act of sitting down and doing the thing–writing!–is in some ways the hardest part of being a writer. But then…what … Read more
This year Melanie and I had hoped to attend the largest conference for creative writers–the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) in Portland at the end of March. We wanted to promote Plume and we also wanted to hang with fellow writers, many of them colleagues from grad school who’ve gone on to other … Read more
The Chill Is On Is it winter where you are? Cold, dark, inhospitable? If so, we feel you! Of course, there are places much colder and darker than Albuquerque, New Mexico, but this winter we’ve had our fair share of snow, record cold temperatures, and cloudy days (and Albuquerque typically claims 300 sunny days per … Read more