Writing - grace grits and gardening

Potluck & Poison Ivy (plus a little Accidental Salvation)

January 31, 2019 By Talya Tate Boerner

Potluck & Poison Ivy

Last week, I was fortunate enough to help kick off the 2019 season of Potluck & Poison Ivy. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this event, Potluck & Poison Ivy is a live dinner theater located at The Joint in the Argenta Arts District of North Little Rock. Bring your story to the table—that’s the tagline for the evening. A $35 ticket will get you dinner, southern storytelling, and live music.

What a deal.

Arkansas friends, do you remember the Starving Artist Cafe? The cafe, which served as the venue for Tales from the South, closed in 2014. I never had the chance to attend Tales, but I imagine Potluck is similar.

Sunday Letter: 01.20.18

January 20, 2019 By Talya Tate Boerner

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

Happy cold Sunday from Northwest Arkansas! Since I wrote to you last, I’ve mostly been editing my WIP. When the banker in me says WIP, I think of a current asset, a component of inventory. The writer in me knows WIP as my current manuscript. 100,000 words that occupy my every waking (and dreaming) moment.

It’s fun, the editing. And maddening.

I consider every part of writing a book the most important part.

The first draft? Without it, the book would never exist. Every draft after the first one makes the story stronger and more succinct. But the intimate, exhausting, exhilirating editing comes when the writer debates the nuance of every single word, considering whether there’s a better choice in a sea of words.

That’s where I am now. And I’m obsessed with it.

The Last Week of December

December 29, 2018 By Talya Tate Boerner

THE LAST WEEK IN DECEMBER provides a quiet pause before stepping into the new year. The gifts have been given and opened, and we’re back home after five days in Dallas. For me, it feels like a free week, time to mold like Play-doh, to shape however I like.

I use some of my time during this last week in December to review my prior year. I think about the high points and begin to plan for 2019. I compile a few statistics. Without looking back, it’s impossible to know where I am. And this process helps me let go of what’s not working and move forward.

Something I’ve learned as a creative—I have to be willing to take a long hard look at myself, cheer for myself, and push myself into uncomfortable territory… AND, it’s about my entire body of work. Every word, every sentence, every story creates the whole of what I’m trying to do—to be a better writer and speak to a larger audience.

« Previous Page

Potluck & Poison Ivy

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.