Writer Ellen Morris Prewitt Blog

Chiseling On Through, Y’all

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 6, 2018. Posted in Writing. 8 Comments on Chiseling On Through, Y’all

I have just completed another rewrite of Jazzy and the Pirate. I created a document to hold the cuts I made, in case I wanted to add them back in. The document is 31,252 words. That’s 124 pages. The finished version of this draft is 48 pages shorter than my last draft. (I read once that you don’t have a first draft until someone reads it; I had...

New Year’s Eve Wishes

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on December 31, 2017. Posted in General, LOVE. 16 Comments on New Year’s Eve Wishes

Happy New Year to those with stars in their eyes on how grand life has become. And to those struggling with the dismay of dreams lost. And to those standing in the middle, unable to discern whether they feel happy or sad with the way life is going. Our lives are our stories, writ large. May each of us have the best tomorrow we can. And the day...

‘Tis the Wonder of the Season

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on December 25, 2017. Posted in GOD, LOVE. 6 Comments on ‘Tis the Wonder of the Season

My husband is “watching football” on the couch. He’s snoring. The dog is curled up in the nest made by the crook of his bent knees. I’ve just hung up Facetiming with my family in North Carolina after 3 days of celebrating with my family in New Orleans. The grandsons are 6 and 4. They will grow up and will remember as if...

It’s the Damn Christmas Season, So Be Nice

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on December 11, 2017. Posted in General. 5 Comments on It’s the Damn Christmas Season, So Be Nice

So I was in a hurry today and I needed to get my life insurance premium paid and I ran into the Farm Bureau office and I flashed a smile at the clerk behind the desk and shoved the check into her hands and whirled to the door, and she said to me, “It’s nice to see you again,” at which point I was already halfway through the...

After a Year, Enough

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on December 10, 2017. Posted in FASHION, GOD, GRIEF, HOMELESSNESS, LOVE, Racism to Reconciliation, Writing. 11 Comments on After a Year, Enough

I have lived in shock for a year. I could not believe that a man who put himself at the center of the universe and tore down everyone around him in the ugliest manner possible had been elevated to the presidency. The vote of my fellow and sister Americans sanctioning his behavior felt like gaslighting, an attempt to convince me that all I saw...

Cherry Bomb, St. Mary of Egypt, and Redemption

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on December 7, 2017. Posted in General, GOD, GRIEF, HOMELESSNESS, LOVE, Writing. 5 Comments on Cherry Bomb, St. Mary of Egypt, and Redemption

At one point in my life when I was struggling with betrayal, I went to my Episcopal priest for advice. He suggested that during this difficult time, I might find it easier to pray to Mother Mary. I followed his suggestion, and thus began a lifelong relationship with the mother of God. CHERRY BOMB takes this concept and expands it to a near-magical...

Die, Spam

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on December 6, 2017. Posted in General. 10 Comments on Die, Spam

This is not a major post. It’s a minor post. Due to website upgrades, my spam protection disappeared. Naked, I was inundated with sleazy messages about limp penises, opioid-crisis-level drugs, and loose women. I realize now that this has kept me off the blog, as if creeping near exposed me to cooties. I’m glad to report protections...

I Bet You do it Too

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on November 16, 2017. Posted in General, Racism to Reconciliation, Writing. 6 Comments on I Bet You do it Too

The first Community Writers Retreat I put together for Door of Hope Writing Group, the panel of facilitators was white. Every writer I’d identified to come and teach us about writing in an all-day conference was Caucasian. I wasn’t being racist. I was asking for favors: will you come—unpaid—to the Retreat and teach a workshop on writing? Of course...

Recording Under a Train

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on October 25, 2017. Posted in General, GRIEF, Writing. 8 Comments on Recording Under a Train

Recording this TRACKING HAPPINESS novel is about to do me in. The final take is almost in the can (is that an appropriate phrase for a recorded novel?) I’m laying in bed, worn out. I’ve recorded the durn thing three times. On the first take, the quality sucked. I hadn’t yet found the Amazing Black Box that Eats Ambient Noise...

Recording TRACKING HAPPINESS

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on October 18, 2017. Posted in Writing. 7 Comments on Recording TRACKING HAPPINESS

I’m deep in the middle of recording my novel TRACKING HAPPINESS. My followers fondly refer to this novel as “the chicken novel.” Earlier, I traveled to Jackson, Mississippi where my very talented sister shot a photo for the book cover. Next, my graphic artist transformed the photo into a true book cover (featuring a chicken,...