homeless writing Archives - Ellen Morris Prewitt

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...

The Backstory

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on December 6, 2018. Posted in General, GRIEF, LOVE, Writing. 2 Comments

He stopped me in the stairwell of the yellow brick church on Monroe. It was our first session of the Door of Hope Writing Group held at the church. The church was temporary. We’d moved there from the backyard of Manna House where I teetered across the gravel in my high heels and June Averyt flung out her arm and said, “This is Ellen...

Yikes!

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on September 3, 2016. Posted in HOMELESSNESS, Writing. 14 Comments

What was I thinking? Sending out such a request? Yes, my agent is shopping my novel to big name publishing houses. Yes, editors at those houses—complete strangers—are judging my work. Plus, I’ve been in writing groups for years where judging nascent work is the name of the game. But this is different. I put out a request on Facebook for...

June: Not a Sentimental Person

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on May 2, 2016. Posted in General, GOD, HOMELESSNESS, Writing. 12 Comments

Many years ago, when I was letting the Spirit lead me around by the nose, I went to Door of Hope and asked if I could start a writing group for men and women living on the street. Dr. June Mann Averyt, the founder and then Executive Director of Door of Hope, watched me toddle through the door in my high heels and said, “What the hell—go...

Luanne Reviews WOWH: A Group Journey Out of Homelessness

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on September 16, 2015. Posted in HOMELESSNESS. 4 Comments

Luanne Castle at Writer Site is a poet and essayist working on her memoir. As she considers the best structure for her story (Scrap: Salvaging a Family—she’s the daughter of a garbage man), she’s reading memoirs by other gifted writers to see how those authors chose to organize their mini-lives between the pages. Best of all, she...

Summer Reading Recommendation: Writing Our Way Home

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on August 3, 2015. Posted in HOMELESSNESS, Writing. Leave a Comment

Thank you to Luanne Castle at Writersite for featuring Writing Our Way Home: A Group Journey Out of Homelessness on her blog. Check it out, and while you’re there, take a look around. She’! http://writersite.org/2015/07/27/summer-reading/

We are The Champions

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on June 17, 2015. Posted in HOMELESSNESS. 8 Comments

When I began talking about a Door of Hope writing group book, people told me the book had to include my voice. Feature my voice, even. This was not what I wanted. Specifically, I didn’t want to be the well-off white woman who began working with those who had no shelter and immediately had the bright idea to write a book about her experience....

Literary Gift to Those Once Known as Homeless

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 25, 2015. Posted in HOMELESSNESS, Writing. 8 Comments

No one owes you anything in this world. Everything anyone does for you is a gift. Some gifts—the gift of love or forgiveness or a trust fund enabling you to graduate law school and make your way in this world for a while—are pretty damn big gifts. Others may seem small, but those gifts are the ones that often bring tears to my eyes. Chapter 16.org...

So Easy

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on September 26, 2014. Posted in General. 6 Comments

So my friend had three polyps; two benign, one malignant. So he had to have another colonoscopy this year to recheck things. So he’s on Medicaid. So Medicaid doesn’t pay for the prep material that you must drink and cannot have a colonoscopy without. So he had to postpone the colonoscopy until a day came when he didn’t have...

Thank God Dogs Gotta Pee

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on September 19, 2014. Posted in General. 2 Comments

Thank God dogs have to pee. My time at my dad’s family reunion this past week was invaded by the Door of Hope book, Writing Our Way Home: A Group Journey Out of Homelessness. Calls from TV news anchors; an interview with Leonard Gill of the Memphis Flyer, which resulted in this great article: MEMPHIS FLYER All wonderful stuff but, for...

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