Self-care Archives : Page 2 of 3 : Plume

Publication vs. Inspiration

July 23, 2019 by Melanie Unruh

woman sitting in the grass, blowing on book with colorful lights coming out of it

As writers, there is a lot of pressure to publish our work. Certainly, many of us want to get our writing out there (and, dare we say, even get paid for it?), but should publication be the ultimate goal for a writer? Not a Destination Here at Plume, we say no. There is nothing wrong … Read more

Inspiration in Everyday Life

April 18, 2019April 17, 2019 by Melanie Unruh

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

Writing While Momming

April 11, 2019April 9, 2019 by Melanie Unruh

Woman working at high cafe table while her toddler stands beneath it

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

An Interview with Jennifer Jordán Schaller

July 10, 2020April 2, 2019 by Melanie Unruh

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

The Five Ws of Plume

March 11, 2019March 5, 2019 by Melanie Unruh

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

Writing as Escapism

February 19, 2019February 19, 2019 by Melanie Unruh

Hands of a woman in a thick beige sweater, wearing silver rings, drinking coffee, eating a croissant, and writing in a notebook with a pen

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

A Love Letter To My Memoir

February 14, 2019 by Jennifer Simpson

Dear Memoir, I met you for the first time in a writing workshop facilitated by Jill Badonsky. You were scribbles and snippets that filled my notebooks. Some of those bits were silly and some were too personal to share, but those bits were life rafts that kept me afloat when I was sinking: my sister … Read more

Dreaming Your Creative Writing

January 8, 2019January 8, 2019 by Jennifer Simpson

My best friend Karin told me that when she sleeps it’s like going to the movies. She dreams complete stories. And she doesn’t always have the lead role! That surprised me because I’m always the star of my own dreams. If I remember them. Of course she’s a fiction writer and I write nonfiction—I’m working … Read more

An Interview with Julia Halprin Jackson

November 6, 2018November 6, 2018 by Melanie Unruh

Julia Halprin Jackson, smiling in a striped shirt

I first met Julia Halprin Jackson in the spring of 2005 in Granada, Spain. We were both in college and enrolled in a study abroad program, and spent the next five months learning about this beautiful city and country, as explorers and writers. Julia has a very generous spirit, which I can see clearly in her writing (And she actually writes about Spain! Now I’m wondering why I never really did…). Though I haven’t seen her in many years, I’ve always felt a connection to her through our shared love of creative writing. We are so excited to have Julia as December’s featured Plume writer.

Plume: When did you know you were a writer?

Julia Halprin Jackson: I’ve loved writing ever since I could hold a pencil. I’ll always love Thursdays because in second grade, Mrs. Stroeve made them “creative writing” days.

Workspace Update

October 9, 2018 by Melanie Unruh

Cork board covered with postcards and other images

Back in May I wrote a blog called Spring Cleaning Your Creativity. I always intended to check back in on this topic, namely because my desk, which I consider the central hub of my own creativity, was, well, a giant mess. I put off this update for some time, mostly because I knew I was going to have to move my office space back into my bedroom, as I’m turning the former into a nursery. At long last, I have my space set up the way I like, and in a manner that’s conducive to encouraging my imagination. I thought I’d walk through the different parts of this newly remade space to share some ideas about how to maximize the creativity available in what’s really just a wee corner of a room.

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