by Jamie Chavez | May 23, 2017 | Words & Language
There are words and then there are … favorite words. Like, you know, cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels, these are a few of my favorite— You have favorite words, don’t you? I do. Again, I don’t mean favorite phrases, like Awesome, dude. (Although I do love...
by Jamie Chavez | Jun 16, 2016 | Your Editor Says …
How much or how little “natural” ability anyone has is nearly impossible to gauge. When Emily Dickinson composed the lines that filled the pages she kept in her lonely desk, she could not know that her pure apprehension of the language, her immutable style and...
by Jamie Chavez | Feb 27, 2016 | The Writing Craft
I’ve written some about finding your voice (there are links below). Many people have. And you’ll hear lots of different opinions … which makes it difficult for young or inexperienced writers to figure out. What is voice in writing? And how do you identify yours? It’s...
by Jamie Chavez | Jan 2, 2016 | Books You Might Like
This has happened to you, I’m sure: you’re reading along and an exquisite sentence stops you in your tracks. Sometimes it’s in a novel full of perfection; sometimes it’s in a novel where it shines like a diamond in a pile of coal. This list came across Facebook this...
by Jamie Chavez | Nov 5, 2015 | Books You Might Like, Creativity
So many people are denied the deep gratification of poetry. Their educations have trained them to read for information. When I told my uncle that a book of my poems had been published, he said, “Poety is Greek to me.” He did not open the pristine white covers of my...
