Celebrating 200 Years // North American Review
The North American Review was founded in 1815. It is the oldest literary magazine in the US and it publishes out of my alma mater: University of Northern Iowa. In the early 2000’s I was a graduate student in the Masters of English Creative Writing program and one of my first memories of launching into graduate study was knocking on the door of the North American Review. I was 22 years young, pregnant and living in the basement of a Mennonite church. I had no fears knocking on that NAR door because… Read More
Birthdays + Aging + Why I LOVE Getting Older (and you should, too)
Today is my birthday. Woot! I’m 36 and SO happy to be getting older. Beyond the fact that I’m so over 35 at this point, I’m just generally in love with aging. So this week I did something I’ve never done before in the name of vanity. You see I don’t typically engage in a lot of activities that have me working real hard on my looks. I like to throw around facts like this: I’ve never dyed my hair. I’ve never permed my hair. I’ve never tanned at a tanning salon. I’ve… Read More
HOW TO PLAN YOUR OWN WRITING RETREAT (based on the awesome one I just had)
I have just returned from an epic writing retreat. Maybe it was epic because it was my first one, ever. Or maybe it was epic because of what happened at the end of it. Suspend the next eight minutes with me as I take you on my writing retreat and you might get some tips to create your own writing retreat that will have you on a spiritual high like I was at the end of mine. The punch line is this: I FINISHED MY NOVEL! “Now, wait,” you say, “didn’t you… Read More
LEADERS: DO THIS, DON’T DO THAT.
I wrote this post as an article for the Leadership column of The Mennonite magazine’s most recent issue. There are powerful leaders and humble leaders, horrible leaders and questionable leaders. Throughout my adult life of working under various leaders—from churches to places of employment, from neighborhood associations to my children’s school board, from nonprofit organizations where I’ve volunteered to my own family—I’ve had varying experiences of leaders and come to understand that everyone is a teacher. They teach me what to do and sometimes what not to do. 1. Do this: Get your hands dirty When… Read More
Claire DeBerg // Writer 