Laura’s Blog

The Hardest Obstacle

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which (s)he has overcome.” —Booker T. Washington What do you consider the most important obstacle you have ever overcome? Tell us about that obstacle and how you overcame it.

The Hardest Obstacle Read More »

Someone Who Loved Me

“At the end of the day people won’t remember what you say or did, they will remember how you make them feel.” — Maya Angelou Describe someone who made you feel loved. Make the description so vivid that the reader feels loved, too.

Someone Who Loved Me Read More »

The Weather

“It got so cold in the house that icicles hung from the kitchen ceiling, the water in the sink turned into a solid block of ice, and the dirty dishes were stuck there as if they’d been cemented in place. Even the pan of water that we kept in the living room to wash up

The Weather Read More »

Remembering Our Dead

“Whenever another loved one dies, all the others that went before her rise up to be counted.” —woman in an online support group for people with cancer Tell me about your dead. List their names, write an essay about them, or paint a portrait of one particular person you loved who has died.

Remembering Our Dead Read More »

The Real Truth

“The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason they write so very

The Real Truth Read More »

A Smell I’ll Never Forget

“Smell is a potent wizard that transports us across thousands of miles and all the years we have lived. The odors of fruits waft me to my southern home, to my childhood frolics in the peach orchard. Other odors, instantaneous and fleeting, cause my heart to dilate joyously or contract with remembered grief.” –Helen Keller

A Smell I’ll Never Forget Read More »

My Tribe

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” —Jane Howard, Families Tell me about your tribe, your extended family.

My Tribe Read More »

Books That Changed My Life

“For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how

Books That Changed My Life Read More »

An Internet Vacation

“Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except over technology.” —John Tudor What would you do if you were to stop using the Internet for a year? How would your life change? Would you miss the Internet? Could you live without it?

An Internet Vacation Read More »

Scroll to Top