Photo by Atilla Bingöl on Unsplash
Hello Writers!
Maya Angelou said, “Every storm runs out of rain.”
April was not shy of rain. As a matter of fact, April exceeded her typical showers and brought us catastrophic flooding. Fortunately, I wasn’t in an area impacted by the rains, but I’ve certainly felt the emotional rise of floodwater.
The last time I wrote in the newsletter, my life was undergoing significant changes. Over the past year, my existing job dissolved, and I started a new job, endured a painful separation followed by divorce, sold my house and bought a new one, packed and moved out, moved in and unpacked, bought a new car after trying to repair the former, and faced unforeseen health challenges. It has been a whirlwind of rising water.
There is a local restaurant that I love to frequent called Captain’s Quarters, right along the Ohio River. It is no stranger to floodwater. Over the years, the owner developed a unique strategy to deal with the rising muddy river water: he intentionally floods it first with fresh water. On a social media video, Andrew Masterson explains, “We figured if water’s coming in no matter what, it might as well be the kind we control.”
What if… instead of looking at the overwhelming rising of floodwaters, we decide to take control of how we handle our circumstances?
I had to learn to accept that life doesn’t always flow smoothly along the preferred predicted path. Like water, life circumstances are often out of our control and courses roughly where it wants to. I have had to choose to go with the flow rather than force myself upstream or remain in a place where I no longer had the strength to stay.
There were many days when I cried and did not want to crawl out of bed. Many days I wanted to return to what I had, even if it was not a healthy situation, simply because it would alleviate the pain of my present circumstances. My heart was allowing muddy waters to fill the empty space.
Emotional damage has forced me to choose to do things differently. I learned to shift my mindset to let go of what I once had and release the muddy pain of my past. I let fresh water in. I choose to focus on what I can do to keep moving forward. I will take active measures to prevent any further damage from happening in my future.
This May, choose to let in fresh water.
I leave you with this famous quote that has resonated with me for the past several decades. It is by author and pastor, Charles Swindoll:
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.”
~ Nancy Burgess
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Our next meeting on May 13th is a poetry workshop: “Sing It, Dance It, Shape it” with poet and teacher Lennie Hay. We will be reading and discussing modern and contemporary poetry. We will be at the St. Matthews Library (3940 Grandview Ave 40207) from 6:30pm to 8:30.
On June 7th from 9:00am to 5:00pm, we will host our annual Spring Into Summer Writers Retreat at Valaterra Retreat Center in La Grange, Kentucky. Cost is $50 for members and $75 for non-members, plus $11 for an optional box lunch. Registration will open on the WWW website at 10am on May 12. Space is limited.
Our June 10th meeting will be held at the St. Matthews Library (3940 Grandview Ave 40207) from 6:30pm to 8:30. If you would like to receive a peer critique, email us () before June 10th at noon. To give all members an opportunity to read, priority for peer critique will be given to those who email us ahead of time and who have not read at a recent meeting. Please bring 15 printed copies of the manuscript you’d like us to read. No more than 1300 words (4 to 4.5 pages double-spaced) for prose (excerpts of longer pieces welcome), or two pages of poetry.
WRITING PROMPT
Write about a time in your life or your character’s life where you/they experienced the emotional rising of floodwaters and show how you/they overcame them.
~ Nancy Burgess
Photo by Jon Flobrant on Unsplash
WWW BLOG
Women Who Write has a blog on our website to showcase our community’s talent. We want to publish your writing or republish a recent publication of yours (given that reprints are permitted). Please send us your short stories, poems, and essays! No more than 2,000 words.
Browse our web blog now! Publishing on our blog will expand your writing platform. For more information, email and pitch your story or poem—the one you’ve written or the one you want to write! We may provide suggested edits, for flow and clarity.
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Rita S. Spalding
Rita S. Spalding studied in London and graduated summa cum laude from Murray State University in December 2024. She is the recipient of the 2025 Murray State Outstanding Senior in Sociology Award.
She has been published in 18 Calliope anthologies, National Library of Poetry, Kentucky Monthly Magazine, Poet-Tree Magazine, Kentucky Humanities, and more. Her first book, Abstract Ribbons, was published in 1992. Two books, What is Beauty and The Eighth, were published in 2025.
She is a former director of Women Who Write, helped establish the Kentucky Women’s Book Festival, and has been the featured poet for Calloway County Public Library Kentucky Author Celebration (2023) and the podcast Present Poetry (2025).
Follow her on Facebook and Instagram!
https://www.facebook.com/rita.spalding69/
https://www.instagram.com/poet.ritaspalding1/
(rita-spalding-zero)
SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITIES & LOCAL EVENTS
The Jesse Stuart Foundation is hosting Jack Ellis Writers Workshop May 9-10 at the Jesse Stuart Lodge in Greenbo Lake State Resort Park in Greenup. Rita Spaldingwill be presenting “Poetry of Life” with Dr. Lee Pennington at the workshop. Registration is $50.
Crystal Wilkinson and Frank X Walker will be hosting a writing workshop at General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton from June 16-17. Registration rates from $150-325.
The Louisville Book Festival is open for applications until May 31st.
Spalding University’s summer reading series Voice & Vision kicks off with Tracy Clayton, Sally Evans, Allie Fireel, Shannon Stocker, and Shona Tucker on Thursday May 15 from 6-7:30 at the 21c Museum Hotel. The event is free!
Submit a story to Landslide Lit(erary) on Medium.com, a publication edited by two WWW members—Kimberly Crum and Bonnie Omer Johnson—who will provide editorial suggestions.
Regular local events:
Submission directories:
Women’s publications seeking women writers:
SUPPORT OUR WRITING COMMUNITY!
Become a member or renew your membership—As a community, WWW strives to nurture your writing life. We hope you choose to join or renew as a member and participate in our monthly meetings, author talks, retreats, and workshops. Our membership coordinator will notify anyone due to renew. Regular annual membership is $50. Student annual membership is $25. Scholarships are available. Membership entitles you to discounts on workshops and retreats.
Attend our monthly member meetings on the second Tuesday of each month for a brief program, peer critiques, and conversations about the writing life. Not currently a member? You can attend two meetings before deciding to join.
Visit our webpage WomenWhoWrite.com.
Visit our Facebook Page—@womenwhowriteky. Don’t forget to like us and follow us.
Thank you, WWW members, for joining our nonprofit group, for sharing your unique voices, and for supporting each other with open hearts and minds.
Your Leadership Team
Megan, Erin, Holly, Colleen, Liz, Irene, and Nancy