Why Writers Need Coffee with Friends…and with Strangers

You may dislike critique groups, but don’t discount the power of the coffee date. January 3, 2023 Dear Writers, Thank you for signing up for Writing with Hart: News and Opportunities for Writers. I’m so glad you’re here! First, big congratulations to my Oregon colleague Emily Grosvenor for her publication of this inspiring personal essay: “Ditch the

What Makes You Fearful & Deeply Uncomfortable?

Go out and pursue it. December 2, 2023 Dear Writers, Last Tuesday, I walked into a hospital room and found a man lying on the ground groaning in pain. It was up to me to figure out what was wrong with him and how to help. It turned out he’d fallen and had a horrific

Publish Personal Essays to Build an Audience for Your Books

October 2, 2023 Dear Writers, Thank you for signing up for Writing with Hart: News and Opportunities for Writers. I’m so glad you’re here! First, a shout-out to my former University of Oregon journalism student who recently published Where We Call Home: Essays from the Lands, Seas, and Skies of the Pacific Northwest. I ran into her

August 3,2023 Dear Writers, First, a shout-out to my former student and amazing poet/essayist Cricket Matthews for this newly-published poem (scroll down to read it; it’s titled “Hypothesis”) Notes | Pearl Press (pearl-press.com) And are you following author Jan M. Flynn’s blog? I certainly hope so. She was my student in a personal essay class,

Immerse Yourself in Adventure.

Your readers will thank you. March 1, 2023 Dear Writers, First, a shout-out to my colleague Dana Shavin, who rocks all types of essays from her home in Tennessee. Check out this hermit crab piece titled “All You Can’t Eat.” And if you’re looking for a little inspiration and a few hundred writing prompts, my

Playtime for Writers!

What would happen if you allowed yourself to write without expectation of publication? December 1, 2022 Dear Writers, On Tuesday, I had a truly lovely glass of strawberry cider and some superb garlic rolls with my Eugene colleague—young adult novelist J.C. Geiger. We got to talking about what the brain scans of humans look like when

It’s Okay to Take a Break from Writing…

Before you spontaneously combust. November 1, 2022 Dear Writers, Thank you for signing up for Writing with Hart: News and Opportunities for Writers. I’m so glad you’re here! Right away, a Big Confession: I didn’t send an October newsletter. Life got really messy at the end of September. I’m talking emotional trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, insomnia .

Article Pitches that Sold to Magazines & Newspapers

Pitching an article is an art-form. Make sure the topic you’re pitching checks one or more of these boxes: Is the topic new, or treated in a new way? Is the topic relevant to readers of that specific publication? Is the topic surprising? Here are three of my pitches that recently sold. Sold to The