Breakthrough from the Past: First you listen. Then you write out the clues. “What kinds of things do you write?” asked Martha… ”I’m not exactly a writer,” Sam corrected her. “I’m a listener. I’m listening for clues about day-to-day life on the planet.” “But do you write things down?” asked Jessie. “Of course,” said… Continue Reading >>>
Author Archives: Mary Sojourner
Breakthroughwriting: week of 5/23/2022: Thank you, James Carpenter
I recently invited you, my readers, to send in your takes on breaking through into your writing. James Carpenter responded. While Japan is known, in part, for its shrines and temples, these ancient places are emblematic of only one aspect of the culture; others can be gleaned from how the Japanese buy and sell land. If… Continue Reading >>>
A day in which I don’t write leaves a taste of ashes –Simone de Beauvoir
These strange plague days, I sometimes feel as though I am choking on the ashes of the fires of the last two years. I’m not talking about trees burning, though at least 16,000 acres of forest have burned around and near Flagstaff. I’m talking about the deaths of friends – all younger than I am;… Continue Reading >>>
How are you spending your real life in your real world, writer?
Two years ago, dozens of old mobile homes lay beyond this fence. Kids screeched and chased each other. An old woman and a green-haired girl sat on a stoop and smoked cigarettes. The scent of chili drifted in the air. Home-made? Take-out from Los Altenos? I had no way to know. I had pretended that… Continue Reading >>>
Technical Difficulties
I’m having trouble posting to Breakthroughwriting.net If you need to reach me about working on your writing, please email me at any of these addresses: bstarr67@gmail.com. shebetsherlife@gmail.com. or kali114402001@yahoo.com I’ll be working with a tech to get this straightened out. Thanks, Mary Share on Your Social Media Continue Reading >>>
In This Difficult Time, What Does Writing Mean for You?
I’ve started this Breakthrough at least five times: I have just learned that a friend’s brother has been diagnosed with covid. One of the most honorable women I know lives with the side-effects of her tenth series of chemo treatments. A writing co-conspirator is living with his third battle with cancer – cancer in at… Continue Reading >>>
Writers, You Have the Power to help A Family in Ukraine
I’ve written often about powerlessness: not-writing, not-doing, not-changing. Here is a chance for you to exercise power, true power: My trusted friend’s nephew is married to a woman from Ukraine. Her family is still there. He started a GoFund me and asked that people contribute and also pass the information forward. It’s the real deal. Here is… Continue Reading >>>
Being Afraid: I’ve Avoided Writing About My Too Common Reality for Too Long
This little girl knows terror. She knows how it is to wake in the night to the sound of her mother vomiting and her father’s panicked whispers. It will be a few years until she learns that her father had made her mother drink a quart of milk without stopping. He had hoped it… Continue Reading >>>
“I want to write, but there are no stories…” Breakthrough for March 11, 2022
You have come to the opening of the Maze. There are no instructions. There is no map. You have been here before – and you will be here again. Or not. The Mojave desert sun is soft. It might be November. Or mid-March. You may have brought yourself here with nothing but paper and pen.… Continue Reading >>>
Win a Free One-hour Writing Session with me
A generous couple have given Breakthrough a generous donation. I want to pass the generosity forward. I invite you to apply for a one-hour mentoring session with me. You can use our time any way you want – break it into segments, use the whole hour. I work with non-Flagstaff writers on-line and by phone.… Continue Reading >>>
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