In the midst of widespread debates about the national minimum wage and the ethics of unpaid internships, where does the striving writer feature? I’ve been struggling to define my own boundaries as a professional and a volunteer. An eager artist with plenty (too much?) to say, I tend to shout “yes!” to opportunities first and…
Author: Rachel Dempsey
Lightbulb Moments at Lighthouse Lit Fest 2021
In early June, I attended Lit Fest, presented by Denver’s Lighthouse Writers Workshop. I’ve participated in several craft workshops as part of the Lit Fest offerings in past summers, but this was the first year I decided to apply for an advanced placement course. While I’ve learned from all of my critique groups and workshops—with…
Self-Care When Writing the Hard Stuff
A few nights ago, my husband and I watched the Frida Kahlo biopic. We both noted a commonality between her story of chronic pain and the lives of many other artists across disciplines: great work as a product of great suffering. I’m not interested in perpetuating the stereotype of the tortured artist and the way…
The Social Dilemma
The Social Dilemma: Better Late than Never? When I told my friends and family I was going to write for a blog, they laughed. As a career performing artist, playwright and director, my aversion to all things tech was no secret. “I embrace the live, the real,” I would snap at anyone who dared suggest…
A Scary (But Good) Debut: An Interview with Author and RMFW Member Joy Jarrett
The sun is shining in that undeniably Colorado way, making it hard to imagine clouds exist. I’ve snagged a little table near the grass outside Panera’s—the same location author Joy Jarrett and I used to meet in-person with our RMFW critique group, a lifetime ago. It is the perfect congenial setting for a discussion about…