I have a confession. I used to hate rough drafts. When other writers talked about how they were on their third or fourth draft, I used to groan. I guess I thought that it was a waste of time, that more than one or maybe two drafts was indulgent or useless. First thought best thought, I believed. Sparkling and spontaneous prose. To hell with carefully crafted plot outlines and character sketches. And in a way, that is what you want–writing that feels in the moment and pulsating with its own aliveness. But after years of writing and editing, I’ve learned my lesson, which is: It doesn’t quite work like that.

CONTINUE READING…..

Thanks for stopping by.  This is my very first post on here and so I’m going to introduce myself: Hi, I’m Jen and I’m a hopeless bibliophile. A book courtesan. Always have been ever since Monster at the End of This Book fascinated me with all its cleverness way back at the age of three. I still remember nagging my parents to let me go to school just so I could learn how to read and I remember the moment I figured it out. I was almost five and the world opened up for me in a way it hasn’t since. The first book someone ever gave to me? It was the Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck, the abridged version, from my grandmother when I was eight. I still have flashes of bound feet and yellow dust fields as though they were my own personal memories.

Writing and literature make me feel….right. And so naturally I became a writer—of short stories and novels and essays and magazine articles. And I believe so fully in writing that I love to help others make their own writing as poignant and perfect as possible.

This is all about writing, about creativity and books and nourishing ourselves with the dreams that others give us and those we create for ourselves. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.