HOMELESSNESS Archives - Ellen Morris Prewitt

Lent 2021: Update

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 24, 2021. Posted in General, GOD, HOMELESSNESS. 2 Comments

It’s really interesting. Most Lents, my disciplines don’t come easy. I have to be very intentional about observing them. After a bit, they will become a new habit, but it takes a while. This Thumb Prayer discipline is different. As I talked about last week, this Lent I’m working on Thumb Prayers each day. Each day,...

No More Giving Up

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 19, 2021. Posted in General, GOD, HOMELESSNESS. 12 Comments

This is the way it goes: Christmas, Epiphany, Mardi Gras, Mardi Gras Day, Ash Wednesday, Lent. We are now in the 40 days of Lent. (This is a religious calendar, but life in New Orleans revolves around it; there’s a season of Mardi Gras for a reason). This year, I’ve made a hard shift on Lent, one many of you might disagree with. Traditionally,...

When a White Woman Accuses a Black Man

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on June 5, 2020. Posted in General, GOD, HOMELESSNESS, RACISM. 6 Comments

He was a writer, a man I’ll call Jonathan. Jonathan was in writing group with me one hour before he was accused of having snatched a purse from a woman on the street, a felony even though the purse had less than $10 in it. I told the investigators that Jonathan had just left writing group when this crime supposedly occurred; there was no way...

Where We Are….

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on May 22, 2020. Posted in General, HOMELESSNESS, Writing. 12 Comments

Last summer, I got an agent for my mystery. Once reason I chose her was because she had good ideas on improving the manuscript. I made those revisions, which were not insubstantial, and in the fall the agent submitted to publishing houses. We didn’t get any bites. We confabbed in January, and she suggested I change the gender of the amateur...

We are Wonders of the Universe

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 25, 2020. Posted in General, HOMELESSNESS, LOVE, Writing. 2 Comments

They were strangers to me. One I had met the Sunday before and spoken with for about five minutes. The workshop host I had admired mostly from afar and met with to set up the workshop. The group had a mother and daughter in it, but otherwise, they appeared to be as unknown to each other as they were to me. Now, we, this group of strangers, were...

Sunday Question

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on November 24, 2019. Posted in General, GOD, HOMELESSNESS, Writing. 6 Comments

What action would you take after reading this? Ellen Morris Prewitt is an award-winning writer who uses creativity to create community. Her first published book was on making crosses from broken and found objects as a form of active prayer (Making Crosses: A Creative Connection to God (Paraclete Press, 2009.) The book led her to facilitate two...

Righting Groups: Certified Organic

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on November 7, 2019. Posted in General, HOMELESSNESS, Writing. Leave a Comment

This often happens. I lay awake at night thinking of the perfect topic for the next day’s Righting Group. Then I arrive at group. Lately, I’ve been doing RGs at new places that haven’t done RG before. So there is a recruitment spiel (even a bit of bribery with chocolate) and a period of uncertainty about whether the group will...

My New Righting Group Book

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on October 30, 2019. Posted in General, HOMELESSNESS, Writing. Leave a Comment

Y’all, I’ve been so busy getting my new book into the hands of folks who can use it, I haven’t stopped long enough to tell you about it. Most of y’all know for 8 years I was part of a weekly writing group of Memphians who had personally experienced homelessness. We wrote; we held public readings; we hosted full-day...

Gestalt Mystery Writing

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on September 14, 2019. Posted in General, HOMELESSNESS, Writing. 2 Comments

I wrote the first Coot Long mystery in between double hip replacements. My left hip was replaced in January of 2015. As I recovered (once I got to the point I could focus), I lay in bed flat on my back so the new hip wouldn’t wrench out of the socket, and I read mysteries. Before I went under the knife, I’d solicited mystery...

Labor Day & I’m Tired

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on September 2, 2019. Posted in General, HOMELESSNESS, Writing. 2 Comments

Oh, y’all. I’m worn out. In the last 3 days, I’ve incorporated massive revisions to HARBORING EVIL that were sent by the agent. I’ve also revised its long synopsis, drafted a short synopsis (shorter is SO much harder.) Drafted a long synopsis for Harboring Malice, hopefully the second installment in the series, and drafted...