In The Word Cellar: An Announcement & Invitation

Writing may be a mostly solitary act, but living the creative life doesn't have to be. In fact, I don't think it should be. There's a time to create in solitude, and there's a time to learn, share, and even create in community. Both of these aspects are critical pieces of my writing life. Without my peers and mentors, I wouldn't keep growing as a writer. Being in community with other artists and writers fuels my enthusiasm and helps me through the rough patches. (That's why I created Lanterns.) As my friends Jen and Rachelle have said many times, respectively: "I don't believe in doing anything alone." And, "There's nowhere to go but together."

In that spirit of creative community, I'm starting a twice-monthly feature called In The Word Cellar. On the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, we'll explore your writing questions and dilemmas. We'll talk about living the creative life and what that means for different people. I'll offer tips and techniques that I use in my own writing and editing. We'll create together by writing along to prompts from time to time. There will be other goodies and surprises along  the way, so stay tuned! 

I'd like to kick off this new feature with an announcement and an invitation.

First, the announcement. I'm thrilled to be speaking at this year's BlogHer conference in New York City, August 6 & 7. I'll be part of a Writing Lab panel called "How to Use Your Blogging to Make You a Better Writer."

Here's the panel description: "This session is about discipline and practice. Which tips and tricks can you use to turn your blog into in-progress and public writing practice? We'll discuss writing prompts, long-form, short-form, essays, humor pieces and more. Your blog can be both journal and portfolio."

For more information and to register, visit the BlogHer conference website. I'll share more information about the panel as it's available.

Now, the invitation. I'm inviting you to submit your questions about writing for In The Word Cellar. These can be general writing questions or those that relate specifically to blogging.

• Do you have questions about grammar, form, or general writing techniques?
• What would you like to do better in your own writing?
• Is there some aspect of writing that remains a mystery to you? 
• What part of the writing or editing process drives you crazy or stumps you time and time again?

Please email your questions to jennifer[at]thewordcellar[dot]com with "In The Word Cellar" in the subject line.

I'm looking forward to seeing you In The Word Cellar!