Parents Who Write

Do you have personal moments of your life that you want to write about, but you're not sure how to approach difficult memories? Or you fear backlash from the people you'd have to write about in order to tell that story?

In today's episode, I'm going to share how I navigate those issues, after I read for you one such story that I wrote.
Topics discussed in this episode:

• Reading of Erin’s personal essay, Erin Go Brách: How My Irish Heritage Found Me
• Why Erin wrote this personal essay about her father and heritage
• Three ways to prepare writing about difficult memories
• Waiting until the right time
• Gaining internal permission to write these stories
• Knowing when you’re ready to face and share your wounds
• Returning to our big why for telling this story
• Writing to help yourself
• Writing to help others and overcoming fear of judgment
• Addressing fear of backlash
• Identifying your intention behind telling this story
• Notice what language you’re using
• Exploring the other person’s point of view
• Play worst case scenario and make a plan
• If you fear physical harm
• Changing details to conceal your identity
• Approaching writing about these moments with caution
• Have a TLC plan in place post-writing

About Erin:
Erin P.T. Canning has worked for more than 15 years as a magazine and book editor, encouraging each writer’s individual voice and strengthening their writing goals.
She always planned to write a book. Then she had kids. While she focused on them, she stopped writing—for six years. Something deep inside was missing. Depression, anxiety, and anger forced her to search for herself, both for her sake and her family’s.
Despite fearing her skills had atrophied, Erin started writing again. One journal entry led to one blog post that led to her creating her podcast, Parents Who Write. Erin’s current role as a podcaster and writing coach enables her to help others pursue their writing dreams.
Finally, she finished writing her own shitty first draft and will release her first novel in 2023. She earned her MA in Writing from Johns Hopkins University, and she lives with her husband and their two boys in Maryland.
Connect with Erin:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinptcanning
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/erinptcanning
• Facebook group: https://facebook.com/groups/parentswhowrite
• Book a free 30-minute consultation call: https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting

Resources discussed during the show:

• Read my personal essay here: https://lifebeyondparenting.com/Erin-go-Brach

Send us a text

Feeling stuck in your author journey? As an experienced editor, I specialize in helping writers like you, especially parents juggling family and creativity, finish and publish their books.
Take action on your writing dreams! Book a FREE 30-minute discovery call to discuss how I can help you implement these strategies and finally achieve your author goals.
https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting
Bonus! Book your call and mention this episode for a free publishing check list.

Have you ever written a sentence that just feels off? And you’re not sure how to rearrange the words or phrases to create a stronger sentence?
Today’s episode plants the first seeds for gaining this knowledge. Just listen, and let these concepts grow roots. And when you come back and listen again, you’ll strengthen these ideas, which in turn will begin to strengthen your writing.
Why? Because no matter how many words a sentence contains, whether that’s 3 words or 100, every sentence boils down to 5 basic patterns. And when you know how the patterns should flow, you’ll be better able to identify and fix those awkward sentences that muddy your ideas and confuse your readers.
So stay tuned and familiarize yourself with the bigger picture.
Also, if you want a visual version of this episode, you can read the article version online: https://lifebeyondparenting.com/sentence-patterns.
Topics discussed in this episode:

• Know your puzzle pieces
• When to implement this in your writing
• Pattern one: subject + verb + subject complement
• Pattern two: subject + verb
• Pattern three: subject + verb + direct object
• Pattern four: subject + verb + indirect object + direct object
• Pattern five: subject + verb + direct object + object complement
• How this helps you

About Erin:
Erin P.T. Canning has worked for more than 15 years as a magazine and book editor, encouraging each writer’s individual voice and strengthening their writing goals.
She always planned to write a book. Then she had kids. While she focused on them, she stopped writing—for six years. Something deep inside was missing. Depression, anxiety, and anger forced her to search for herself, both for her sake and her family’s.
Despite fearing her skills had atrophied, Erin started writing again. One journal entry led to one blog post that led to her creating her podcast, Parents Who Write. Erin’s current role as a podcaster and writing coach enables her to help others pursue their writing dreams.
Finally, she finished writing her own shitty first draft and will release her first novel in 2023. She earned her MA in Writing from Johns Hopkins University, and she lives with her husband and their two boys in Maryland.
Connect with Erin:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinptcanning
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/erinptcanning
• Facebook group: https://facebook.com/groups/parentswhowrite
• Book a free 30-minute consultation call: https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting

Send us a text

Feeling stuck in your author journey? As an experienced editor, I specialize in helping writers like you, especially parents juggling family and creativity, finish and publish their books.
Take action on your writing dreams! Book a FREE 30-minute discovery call to discuss how I can help you implement these strategies and finally achieve your author goals.
https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting
Bonus! Book your call and mention this episode for a free publishing check list.

Are you curious how writing can foster healing, which practices you might try, and how to protect your well-being if you tackle difficult memories?
Joining today’s conversation is Rebecca Evans, a memoirist, poet, essayist, and professor of creative non-fiction. In this episode, you’ll discover how Rebecca uses creative writing and journaling not only to reconnect with herself daily but also to find purpose in her traumatic experiences.
You’ll also learn how to set up a safety dismount practice for those emotionally difficult writing sessions. And you’ll hear how journaling helped Rebecca to connect with her struggling teenager.
Topics discussed in this episode:

• Bookending our days with journaling
• Losing the use of her hands for years
• Safely dismounting from writing as therapy
• The power of funding your voice
• Connecting with our kids via journals
• How art informs life, and life informs art
• The challenges of staying intentionally present
• Being open to exploring someone else’s POV
• Favorite books

About Rebecca:
Rebecca Evans is a memoirist, poet, and essayist. In addition to writing, she teaches Creative Nonfiction at Boise State University and mentors high school girls in the juvenile system. In her spare time, she co-hosts a radio program, Writer to Writer, offering a space for writers to offer tips on craft and life.
Rebecca is also disabled, a Veteran, a Jew, a gardener, a mother, a worrier, and more. She has a passion for sharing difficult stories about vulnerability woven with mysticism. She’s earned two MFAs, one in creative nonfiction, the other in poetry, both from the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe. She lives in Idaho with her sons, her Newfies, and her Calico.
Connect w/ Rebecca:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccawrites33
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/rebeccawrites
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPAJcZV0CEtlCwr_UuMvDuQIm8-UW_ME

Get her books:

• Tangled by Blood: A Memoir in Verse: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1957799080
• When There Are Nine: https://www.moontidepress.com/books

Links to her essays, poems, and more:

• Website: https://rebeccaevanswriter.com/published-work/

Books discussed during the show:

• The Warrior of Light, by Paulo Coelho
• Come the Slumberless to the Land of Nod, by Traci Brimhall
• The Book of Nightmares, by Galway Kenk
• The City in Which I Love You, by Li-Young Lee
• The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
• Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy
• All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr
• Lemon, by Kwon Yeo-sun
• Garlic Ballads, by Mo Yan

Send us a text

Feeling stuck in your author journey? As an experienced editor, I specialize in helping writers like you, especially parents juggling family and creativity, finish and publish their books.
Take action on your writing dreams! Book a FREE 30-minute discovery call to discuss how I can help you implement these strategies and finally achieve your author goals.
https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting
Bonus! Book your call and mention this episode for a free publishing check list.

Do you keep toying with an idea for a novel, but you’re not even sure what constitutes a chapter?
In today’s episode, you’ll learn not only why we use chapters but also what to include in them, their average length, and different ways to end chapters.
So tune in to find out how to identify the purpose or goal of your chapter and thus what to write next.
Topics discussed in this episode:

• Defining chapter
• Including internal and external conflict
• The average length
• Different ways to end chapters
• Identifying your chapter’s purpose or goal
• A challenge for your chapters
• Know at least this when starting a new chapter

About Erin:
For 15 years, Erin has worked as a magazine and book editor, encouraging each writer’s individual voice and strengthening their writing goals. When she became a parent, she set aside her own writing aspirations to focus on her family. As the years passed, she grew increasingly anxious, depressed, and angry until she realized that she had forgotten who she was beyond being a parent.
Despite fearing her skills had atrophied, Erin started writing again. She first created her blog, Life Beyond Parenting, and then created the Parents Who Write podcast. Erin’s current role as a podcaster and writing coach enables her to help parents pursue their writing dreams.
She earned her MA in Writing from Johns Hopkins University, and she has finished the first draft of a fantasy-romance novel. She lives with her husband and their two young boys in Maryland.
Connect with Erin:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinptcanning
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/erinptcanning
• Facebook group: https://facebook.com/groups/parentswhowrite
• Book a free 30-minute consultation call: https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting

Send us a text

Feeling stuck in your author journey? As an experienced editor, I specialize in helping writers like you, especially parents juggling family and creativity, finish and publish their books.
Take action on your writing dreams! Book a FREE 30-minute discovery call to discuss how I can help you implement these strategies and finally achieve your author goals.
https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting
Bonus! Book your call and mention this episode for a free publishing check list.

Parents have an unparalleled understanding of imposter syndrome. While many find writing to be a cathartic experience, facing the fear of rejection and failure stops many from pursuing their passion. Is 30 years old too late to become brave? Can you be an intern and a mom at the same time? Can you resurrect passions that used to feel impossible?

Joining today’s conversation on balancing writing and parenting is Danielle Hayden, freelance writer and mother to a young daughter. She gives valuable advice on freelancing, her new focus on creative writing, and making time for herself and her writing goals.

In working on their biggest obstacles in writing, such as procrastination and self-doubt, our host and Danielle have been able to help their own children combat negative self-talk. Even when mom guilt comes creeping in, they are able to remind themselves of the importance of meeting their own needs.

Danielle started her freelancing career with an internship at age 30 and has since had more than 80 pieces published — with more to come. Now, after focusing on nonfiction and journalistic writing, she’s pushing past her fears and turning to her childhood passion of fiction writing. She’s able to relish these moments while living a busy life as a parent.

Danielle is proving it’s never too late to chase after your dreams!

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Danielle’s background and self-published children’s book
• Why she loves to write and her favorite type of writing
• How to succeed as a freelance writer
• Tips for pitching ideas
• Danielle’s journey with fiction writing
• Danielle details her WIP essay collection and historical fiction book
• Putting pen to paper
• One pivotal lesson Danielle learned about writing
• Learning to “kill your darlings”
• Roadblocks Danielle has overcome in writing
• Conquering procrastination
• Writers and sleep deprivation
• Mom guilt
• 3pistolary, Danielle’s letter writing project
• Favorite books

About Danielle:

Danielle Hayden writes mostly creative nonfiction and journalistic pieces but also dabbles in fiction. She is currently working on an essay collection and a novel. She published her first children's book, A is for Aria, which she wrote as a gift to her daughter.
In 2021, Danielle launched the website 3pistolary to help build connection and community via the practice of letter writing. She lives in Seattle with her techie husband and kindergartener daughter.

Get her book:

• A is for Aria:
  https://www.lulu.com/shop/danielle-hayden-and-nithini-wathsala/a-is-for-aria/hardcover/product-gm4gve.html?q=&page=1&pageSize=4

Connect with Danielle:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniellehaydenwriter
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_daniellehayden_/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/wordsaremything
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-hayden-writer/
• Website: https://www.3pistolary.com/
• Website: https://www.daniellehayden.com/

Books discussed during the show:

• Pigeon Presents series by Mo Willems
• White Olea

Send us a text

Feeling stuck in your author journey? As an experienced editor, I specialize in helping writers like you, especially parents juggling family and creativity, finish and publish their books.
Take action on your writing dreams! Book a FREE 30-minute discovery call to discuss how I can help you implement these strategies and finally achieve your author goals.
https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting
Bonus! Book your call and mention this episode for a free publishing check list.