Change by Saralyn Richard In my lifetime, I’ve witnessed a multitude of tragic, life-changing events: hurricanes, assassinations, explosions, riots, terrorist activities, and deaths. And now a pandemic and outrageous acts of racism, both of which shake our value systems to their very roots. The phrase, “May you live in interesting times,” often attributed to the […]
The Value (and the Pitfalls) of a Critique Group in These Times by Saralyn Richard At a time when everything seems to have been uprooted, including weddings, graduations, family vacations, classrooms, businesses, and workplaces, the one constant in my calendar has been my writers’ critique group. So what if we can’t meet in person, share […]
Gratitude in the Time of COVID by Saralyn Richard I was rocking along, teaching my creative writing and literature classes, volunteering at the doctor’s office, working on a couple of local boards of directors, and preparing for the launch of my newest mystery, A Palette for Love and Murder. Invitations were out; books were in […]
What Makes Excellent Writing? by Saralyn Richard I’ve taught creative writing off and on for years. It was an elective for upper class students in a large suburban Chicago high school. Part of our curriculum was to produce a literary magazine each year, and we entered our work in a National Council of Teachers of […]