Michaela von Schweinitz

A writer doesn’t know how their words land until they share their writing with a reader. They never know what’s missing in their writing if they never hear their work out loud. To trust the reader with our words, we need to have confidence in ourselves. Our confidence grows as we learn to trust our ability to express ourselves. We writers need fresh eyes and ears to detect the things that are lacking or are superfluous. It is scary to let someone into our precious world. So we take baby steps towards the goal of sharing our experience with a…

Once, a therapist told me that it didn’t matter that I had said something with the best intention. What mattered was how it was perceived. I resented that idea. Why was it my responsibility if someone was taking what I had said the wrong way? When I mentioned this to my husband, he said: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I didn’t get it. What was wrong with good intentions? There is no question, good intentions are important. Our hope—to help others, to improve our lives—is at the core of our plans for the future. It drives…

My father was a man of few words. Always well spoken. My father was a cautious man. Cautious about sharing his thoughts freely. My father had a life long distrust in the public space, the public opinion.

Ever been to a cocktail party where someone is telling a story going on one tangent after another? Then we’d been to the same party and I might have been the one telling the story. I love asides, making detours, embellishing the tale with little backstories. Depending on the level of intoxication, its difficult to keep the thread in my mind and pick up where I left the main story line. To come full circle I have to remember the reason why I’m telling the story. We all love details and we want to hear every juicy bit of it.…

Sometimes I’m like the dog in the movie Up. In the animation the dog is focused, obedient and loyal. Until *^%$Squirrel! I turned off all notifications just to get away from the noise on social media. I know, if you are marketing your book this is not an option. But before you market your book you write it. To do that you want to clear away as many diversions as you become aware of. Recently, I came across an involuntary digression and immediately planned for a way to keep me from wandering. Imagine you turn to your phone to retrieve some…