Notes from The Writer's Corner
Listen to our conversation with trauma-informed writing coach Megan Febuary. Next week, we'll talk to Mark Jason Williams on The Quest for the Modern Love Essay. And scroll on for more!
This week, we had a thought-provoking conversation with author and trauma-informed writing coach Megan Febuary. If you are writing hard material, don’t miss this one! Link to recording below.
A few key points from our discussion:
• How writing can be the path to healing.
• How to write about the hard stuff without retraumatizing yourself.
• Why it’s important to stay in touch with what brought you to writing in the first place (hint: it may not have anything to do with being published).
• Ways to prepare yourself emotionally when your story is out in the world.
• And so much more!
Visit meganfebuary.com to learn more about her work and follow her Substack Heal Your Story. Megan’s new book BRAVE THE PAGE is available now! Click on the cover below to learn more!
Next week …
June 16 at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST
Mark Jason Williams on The Quest for the Modern Love Essay
It’s every essayist’s dream placement. If you’re writer, chances are you are very familiar with the New York Times Modern Love column! Join us for a deep dive into how Mark got the coveted spot. We’ll hear about his experience (and also talk about other outlets to try if your piece is rejected). Read his essay HERE!
Mark Jason Williams is an award-winning playwright, essayist, and travel writer who has explored 55 countries across all seven continents. He is the co-author of Out in the World, National Geographic’s first LGBTQ+ travel book, and his work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, HuffPost, Wired, Salon, and more. A lifelong New Yorker, Mark holds a BFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He lives with his husband and their two senior rescue dogs. Visit him at markjasonwilliams.com.
Food for thought …
Studies show the amount of information we’re being asked to process is making us listen less. In other words, we may engage with more but we aren’t taking it in as well.Â
I bring this up often in my classes because listening—both internally and externally to sources that inspire us and make us think—is such a vital skill for writers and we need to be selective about where we are giving our attention.Â
Ask yourself: Is what I am taking in helping or hurting my creative process?
(A good time to ask this may be when you’re scrolling social media and you realize a half hour just passed and you don’t even remember half of what you clicked on.)
Deep listening is an immersive experience. You can’t be distracted. You can’t be thinking about how you need to buy milk or what you should make for dinner.Â
This means consciously allowing yourself to be in the moment. It means following the writing seeds that hit you at unexpected moments. It means kicking out all the thoughts about what happened this morning and what might happen later today.
The seeds are out there but the only way they will become something is if we give them the space they need to GROW.
Join us at the WISDOM & WORDS Fall 2025 Vermont Writing Retreat!
WISDOM & WORDS Fall 2025 Vermont Writers’ Retreat!
Join us from October 17 to 20, 2025 in the beautiful mountains of Vermont during peak foliage season! For fiction and memoir writers. We’ll be staying at Amee Farm Lodge—the perfect setting to get away from it all and inspire your next writing masterpiece!
This fully restored farmhouse features a wraparound porch with panoramic views, wide plank pine floors, and handcrafted furniture. Each retreat guest will have a beautifully appointed guest room. The property boasts two ponds and is located just beside scenic hiking trails and a quintessential Vermont general store.
Planned activities include:
• Daily Writing Classes and private One-on-One Coaching Sessions (all levels) offered by Darcey Gohring
• A Craft Conversation and Writing Workshop with special guest writing instructor Christie Tate
• Optional Yoga Class (all levels)
• Special Story Salon
The entire lodge will be reserved for retreat guests only! Every guest will have private accommodations. Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared using local, farm-fresh ingredients.
Limited spaces are available.
