Use Your Words
We tell our kids to use their words. But how often do we use ours?
Meet Kate Hopper. Kate teaches writing online and at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. Kate holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Minnesota and has been the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, a Minnesota State Arts Board Grant, and a Sustainable Arts Grant. Not too shabby, huh? Kate's writing has appeared in a number of journals, including�Brevity,�Literary Mama, and�The New York Times online. She is currently an editor at�Literary Mama.
In her new book Use Your Word: A Writing Guide for Mothers, Kate writes thoughtfully about using writing as a means to process parenthood, and life.
...I believe that you can experience a transformation�a therapeutic transformation�in the writing process and still end up with art... If you are truly doing [this] work of �reckoning,� of diving in and fearlessly searching for the story in the material of your life, it�s impossible for you not to make discoveries and gain perspective on the life you�ve lived. Isn�t that process, at least on some level, therapeutic? Experiencing that does not detract from what an author has carefully crafted.
I am thrilled Kate asked me to be a stop along her virtual book tour. And now, for a very exciting opportunity. Here is a wonderful writing prompt:
Motherhood Models
Take a few minutes and describe your mother. If you didn�t have a mother growing up, did someone else play a mothering role in your life? Describe her. Maybe you didn�t feel you had a �good� mother and maybe you didn�t know anyone who fit this description. So what would a �good� mother look like? How did/does this ideal affect your own parenting? How have you parented your own child the same or differently?
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Your turn! Answer the above prompt in 600 words or less and email it to me at ivyleagueinsecurites [at] gmail [dot] com by one week from today (5/16). I will submit the best entry to Kate Hopper and the contest winner will receive a copy of Kate's book, a one-hour phone or Skype consultation with Kate Hopper, and a chance for publication in Literary Mama's online magazine!
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In keeping with this fun theme, tell me something about your mother. Who is she/was she? Do you talk to her often? Does she, or did she, play a big role in your life, or in the life of your kids if you have them? What is one thing she did growing up that you do or plan to do with your own kids? Any particularly powerful memories that involve your mom? Come on - this will be fun. I plan to pop in throughout the day and leave my own musings about my own mother. (Don't worry, Mom. They will be universally kind musings!)