Writer Ellen Morris Prewitt Blog

Tearing Apart Your Manuscript

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on May 15, 2017. Posted in Racism to Reconciliation, Writing. 9 Comments on Tearing Apart Your Manuscript

I know, I know—I’ve been missing as of late. For two months, I’ve been holed up inside my novel doing everything I can to meet a self-imposed deadline for revision. The first of March, I received a reader’s report from my paid editor on JAZZY AND THE PIRATE. As you, my readers, know, I’ve been working on this novel since...

The Bigmama Rose: An Easter Story

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on April 14, 2017. Posted in General, LOVE. 6 Comments on The Bigmama Rose: An Easter Story

The rose is scraggly. Its head droops. The petals cannot hold their shape. It’s damn lucky to be here. One Mother’s Day, a long time ago, my dad gave my grandmother a rosebush. The bush was planted beside the lattice gate. The two-story, white-columned house has a grand front door, but everyone comes and goes through the back gate....

No One Was Asking for It

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on March 17, 2017. Posted in FASHION, General. 16 Comments on No One Was Asking for It

One winter day, I was walking through the parking lot at Laurelwood Shopping Center. Laurelwood is a safe, comfortable place. I was in my late 40s. A woman stopped me. She was gray-headed, probably mid-60s. She grasped my arm and, like Coleridge’s ancient mariner, fixed me with her gaze and said, “Young men are going to jump out of...

The Voice of God in my Body

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on March 1, 2017. Posted in GOD. 5 Comments on The Voice of God in my Body

“What are you giving up for Lent?” my tribe asks. I say “tribe” because my brilliant writing coach friend taught me to view those who share my questions in life as my tribe. The question didn’t spring itself on me this morning. I knew Lent was coming since the day of Epiphany in early January. Mardi Gras (or carnival) inevitably rolls into Lent...

When God Bites You In the Butt

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 22, 2017. Posted in General, GOD. 12 Comments on When God Bites You In the Butt

I try not to get angry at people when they disagree with me. It’s not because I’m a saintly woman. I’ve simply learned that when you get sanctimonious with someone, God will turn around and bite you in the butt. As soon as I climb onto my soapbox and start chugging soap suds into the biosphere, I’m sure to be slapped in...

It’s Not Anyone’s Fault Our Jails are Racist

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 20, 2017. Posted in General, Racism to Reconciliation. 4 Comments on It’s Not Anyone’s Fault Our Jails are Racist

The exploitation of Black Americans in my lifetime shows itself as mass incarceration. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not calling those working in the judicial system racist. I don’t blame the white woman who confused my Black friend for a purse snatcher months after the actual mugging took place. I don’t blame the police officer who arrested my...

Around the World in Love

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 15, 2017. Posted in General, LAWYER, LOVE, Writing. No Comments on Around the World in Love

What do London and San Francisco have in common? They are the top two cities downloading my short stores. Where in Canada—the third highest download site—are listeners downloading the stories? Everywhere but Nova Scotia—Nova Scotia don’t like Cain’t Do Nothing with Love. After France, what’s the next most popular country downloading the stories? Iran Where...

Don’t Fall for the Ewing Effect

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 5, 2017. Posted in General, Racism to Reconciliation. 4 Comments on Don’t Fall for the Ewing Effect

Cast your mind back to 1982. The time is the NCAA Basketball Championship. The game pits the Georgetown Hoyas, coached by the brilliant John Thompson, against Dean Smith’s Carolina Tar Heels. The Hoyas’ star is the new phenom center Patrick Ewing. As the game opens, Carolina puts up a shot. The seven-foot Ewing soars to the rim and knocks it...

Small Things I Do FWIW

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 30, 2017. Posted in General, Racism to Reconciliation. 10 Comments on Small Things I Do FWIW

I shop at the Family Dollar or Dollar Tree or the downtown Walgreens rather than the ritzy Walgreens because one does not have to exercise class privilege just because one has it. I choose to place myself in situations where I’m the only white person around—such as my Ob-gyn’s office—because I need to be constantly reminded of what it’s like for...

The Flexible Heretics

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on December 23, 2016. Posted in General, LOVE. 6 Comments on The Flexible Heretics

I shuffled clothes through the narrow hallway. Brick wall on one side, eclectic paintings on the other, I didn’t have much room to maneuver. I’d spent the week sorting my stuff (this pile goes with us, this pile to the Salvation Army) and two suitcases had come with me to our small apartment in New Orleans, not a particularly good...