Writing Archives - Page 19 of 25 - Ellen Morris Prewitt

A Life of Belhaven Houses

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on June 11, 2018. Posted in General, LOVE, Writing. 10 Comments on A Life of Belhaven Houses

Last week, I drove through my old Belhaven neighborhood in Jackson, Mississippi, taking photos of the houses I’ve lived in. I spent two periods of my life in the neighborhood: from age 3 years to 12; and again through the decades of the 1980s and ’90s. My life in Belhaven began in a duplex my mother rented when we moved back from...

Not In Cahoots with the Nightmare

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on June 7, 2018. Posted in GOD, HOMELESSNESS, Writing. 4 Comments on Not In Cahoots with the Nightmare

I have been grappling with—what the hell, that makes it sound so sophisticated; I’ve been moping around the house wondering—the “Why?” question. Actually, it’s a “What?” question. What am I doing with my life right now that matters? When I was facilitating the Door of Hope Writing Group, the answer to this...

This is Why I Write

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on May 29, 2018. Posted in General, Writing. 8 Comments on This is Why I Write

So, I’m working on an essay about my escaping to the family farm in response to Mississippi’s racial mores that constricted behavior in the 1960s, and I’m using a bull (yep) as the central metaphor, and I’m afraid folks might not get it because the bull is incredibly destructive and he’s the POSITIVE metaphor, so...

Podcasting or Hacking Through the Jungle

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on May 24, 2018. Posted in General, Writing. 12 Comments on Podcasting or Hacking Through the Jungle

I did it. I recorded the podcast that will accompany the release of TRACKING HAPPINESS: A SOUTHERN CHICKEN ADVENTURE. The podcast, which I’ve named ELLEN’S VERY SOUTHERN VOICE: NOVELS TOLD WRITE, offers an extended version of the novel. Each of the 26 chapters has accompanying commentary with Helpful Train Hints and Fun Chicken Facts....

TRACKING HAPPINESS: Cover Reveal

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on May 16, 2018. Posted in GRIEF, LOVE, Writing. 13 Comments on TRACKING HAPPINESS: Cover Reveal

Here it is. The cover for TRACKING HAPPINESS: A SOUTHERN CHICKEN ADVENTURE. I love this cover. My sister Elli shot the photo—yep, she’s a professional photographer. That’s Goldie the Chicken as the chicken cover model. For the record, I am walking down abandoned railroad tracks. I wasn’t going to get hit by an oncoming train....

Bead by Bead: The Ancient Way of Praying Made New

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on March 13, 2018. Posted in General, GOD, Writing. 4 Comments on Bead by Bead: The Ancient Way of Praying Made New

My definition of the Holy Spirit at work is when you think you’re doing a very important x, but, unbeknownst to you, the true point of your activity is y. You trundle along, doing your x, and all the while, God is doing y. Suddenly, a beautiful thing blooms into being, something you had no idea was in the works, and all you can do is stand in...

The Pope’s Cat

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 25, 2018. Posted in General, Writing. 6 Comments on The Pope’s Cat

When I read a book to my grandsons, I read from the beginning. Specifically, we pause and read the page containing the author’s name and illustrator’s name (I’m sure there’s a fancy word for this page, but I don’t know what it is.) I start here because I want the boys to understand that who wrote the book is important and who illustrated it is...

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...

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...