Cathy C. Hall Writes

There are lots and lots of books about writing.

Good ones, too, like Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, and Stephen King’s On Writing. And glancing over at my bookcase, I could list a dozen more. But I don’t know whether any of them would have yellow highlighter markings on every page like Steven James’ Story Trumps Structure.

It’s just that every page–every single page–has a gem that I need to remember, a sentence or two that I feel would be better written on a poster and stuck up on the bulletin board above my desk. But I don’t have time or room to make that many posters. So I highlight and re-read and question myself and my story as I work through each chapter, hoping that all the good writing stuff is sinking in and will show up in this latest manuscript.

To be honest, Steven James doesn’t need my recommendation. But you might. And so I couldn’t wait another day to tell you about Story Trumps Structure, even though I haven’t finished it.

Well, you’d be behind, too, if you had to stop and highlight every other line in the book.

I’m a little behind with this Tuesday Tip, but I have a good excuse: I was writing. And I happen to know that most of you who stop by here are writing, too. You tell your stories in whatever you write, from fiction to poetry to blog posts. And so here’s a call-for-submissions that’s perfect for you.

The HerStories Project is looking for your story for their HerStories Voices. And here’s what they had to say about it:

We’re thrilled to announce our latest HerStories Project addition: a new column called HerStories Voices. Here we’ll publish two essays per month. We’re looking for the kind of writing that moves us, amazes us, and makes us wish that we had written it ourselves. As always, we want to highlight the best of women’s voices and show the uniqueness and commonalities of women’s experiences.

You can get all the details about guidelines and submitting here, and I hope you’ll read them carefully and write your story. Because here’s the thing: I read your blogs, friends. I read your stories every day, and they make me laugh and smile and sigh and sometimes cry. You’ve been polishing this kind of writing, and your voice, nearly every time you send a post out into the world.

So write your story. Submit. I can’t wait to read ’em over at HerStories.