Writers With Responsibilities: I Want to Hear From You
Dear Sally,
Do you really want to hear from me? My mind and sometimes my writing is a flurry of unrelated thoughts and concerns. Navel gazing is so overrated, but regardless I wonder what am I to do about my ex-husband who still leaves the seat up every time he comes to my house. Or what about when my four year old asks me,”Why is there war?” when I’ve only had one cup of coffee. And I heard tell that there is a dance at Breadloaf—really? Is it as awkward as it sounds?
Love,
Your friend Full of Questions, Scared to Ask
Dear Full of Questions, Scared to Ask,
Um… The title of my post is I Want to Hear from You. I can help. I am rich in life experience. Ask anyone who knows me: at every turn my life is an example of you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up. If I put half of it in a story it would never pass muster in a workshop; I would be met with a bevy of “I’m not buying it.” So bring it on. I’ve got your back. And remember if you can dump some of the worries, you can get to the page. And that is always the goal.
Love,
Sally
PS. You can email me your questions at blog@pshares.org.
About Author
sarahbanse
Sarah Martin Banse is a Senior Fiction Reader at Ploughshares. She was a Dean's Fellow at Emerson where she received her MFA in Fiction and was the recipient of the Graduate Award in Nonfiction. She was named one of Boston's Top MFA Students by Kneerim and Williams Literary Agency. She is at work on her first novel and a nonfiction book proposal. She lives west of Boston with her four children.