Writing Archives - Ellen Morris Prewitt

The Typewriter

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on March 10, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, Writing. 4 Comments on The Typewriter

My mechanical skill level is so low, I consider opening an ironing board a mechanical act. But this typewriter is important to me. My Uncle Hebron gave it so me. In fact, he told me he was leaving it to me and then he did. It’s his 1940s Royal typewriter. Every note I’ve ever gotten from Hebron during my entire life was typed on...

The Rules I Broke

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on March 8, 2026. Posted in Featured, When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women, Writing. 14 Comments on The Rules I Broke

I’m a rule follower. Maybe a better characterization is that I believe experts when they tell me there’s “a way” to do a thing. When I was beginning my writing career, the “way” was to get short stories published in fine literary journals. At the same time, you worked on a novel. The theory was an agent would...

There are NO DRAGONS in This Book

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 21, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, Writing. 6 Comments on There are NO DRAGONS in This Book

For story time at our house, the six-year-old grandson gets to pick out the books. He has a limit of three books per night. We have two shelves of books, but he has a cache of favorites he returns to time and again. I consider this an “in the wild customer satisfaction” survey. A consistent winner in this survey is There Are NO...

Vonnegut

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 18, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women, Writing. 8 Comments on Vonnegut

When I was in high school, I favored a small library located in a strip center. The library shelves began as soon as you walked in the door. From my weird spatial perspective, the library arranged the books backwards—the cataloguing began at the front desk, placing the fiction authors whose names were at the end of the alphabet closest to the...

Write into the Marrow

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 15, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, Writing. 4 Comments on Write into the Marrow

I want you to know: if you want to write your memoir, you can do it. Write it anyway you want. Tell the parts of your story that you can’t let go of and leave the rest out. Do it your way, the way that satisfies your soul. Please don’t worry about “memoir-writing” advice. Except this: write into the bone then crack...

Catching Souls

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 17, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, Writing. 2 Comments on Catching Souls

I have fallen in love with… Can we get the most important thing out of the way first? Catching Souls for Beelzebub is the only book I’ve ever read written by a male author that actually nails women’s attire. Most male authors, they’re like, she was stunning in her navy skirt and white shirt. Not here. Sure, the perfect attire in...

The Joy of What If

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 11, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women, Writing. 2 Comments on The Joy of What If

I had two inspiration points for When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women. (Of course, I did–it always has to be complicated with me.) Both involved “What If.” This concept is when we set our imagination on “Go” and take off. At least it is for me. The joy of What If has inspired tons of novels, often in the...

Book Reviews on Substack

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 8, 2026. Posted in Featured, Writing. 8 Comments on Book Reviews on Substack

Hi, y’all. This is the first post in a new venture. I’m branching out, kind of. I’ll be posting book reviews on Substack. I’ve done so many reviews on my blog and will do so many more. I want folks to have another avenue to read them. Mine will be very particular reviews. First, I’ll only review books I love....

OBONO Our Family Stories

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 1, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, Writing. 4 Comments on OBONO Our Family Stories

Every year, One Book One New Orleans selects a book for the entire city to read. I’ve told y’all about this before, how other cities have “one book” programs. And how Executive Director Megan Holt has taken the concept to a new level. She does more with her position than any other program I’m familiar with. A...

The American Daughters

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on December 26, 2025. Posted in Featured, General, Writing. 2 Comments on The American Daughters

I have fallen in love with…. I love stories that re-tell American history in a way that, had we not always written the past with a White male pen, we’d know it might have happened this way. The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, which retells the years in New Orleans leading up to the Civil War, is the latest novel I love in this...