Writing lovely, fierce & deepHi. I’m Georgia Lee. I believe in writing and in helping other writers lose their fear of writing their stories. Having written and taught professionally my entire adult life, I know the terror of beginning to reveal memories and skeletons that we’d like to keep hidden deep in closets. As a journalist, I wrote on every subject, EVERYTHING, from world trade pacts to Brazilian bikinis. I challenge you to find a topic I have not covered.
Now I’m writing a novel, not my first but the first that I vow to finish and publish.
While others are out jet skiing or dancing until dawn, I sit alone with my cat, Diamond, staring at a screen well into the night.
I’ve studied with Robert Olen Butler, Augusten Burroughs, Jessica Handler and, as Director of the Ivy Hall Writers Series, had the ultimate gift of spending days with Margaret Atwood Richard Ford, the late great Elmore Leonard and more. I’ve learned that all writers are sensitive and insecure about their work. While I admire those who create fantasy worlds, I find real life so much more bizarre, and consume Realist Literary Fiction. (Though I loved Superman comics and MAD magazine as a child.)
My great teacher and friend, Carol Lee Lorenzo, once said:“Write what you can’t stop thinking about.” Or, “From Where You Dream,” Robert Olen Butler’s excellent book on writing. No one way works for everyone. We’re all in this together, but each writer finds his own way.
I write about what haunts me, what I can’t stop thinking about. Illness, vacations, car wrecks, figure skating, abandonment. Humor has underlying pathos, while light and resilience make tragedy bearable. Giving words to our deepest wounds lessens their sting. Writing disinfects our repressed traumas and can allow healing to begin.
Learn MoreI have recently given a number of lectures for the Author Learning Center with advice for aspiring memoirists highlighting the emotions and the challenges involved with writing a memoir. You can watch the recorded videos of these talks here.
Learn MoreMy personal blog was nominated by Word Press for the “most versatile blogger” award. Twitter has listed her under “Great Writers”, “Must-Read Writers”, “Writers We Admire”, and “Popular Women.” It is an ongoing story of my thoughts and feelings as I move through the world. Join me and get a peek at the soul behind my writing.
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