Maybe There Will Be Cupcakes

Ginny Bartolone's Blog of Many Years

Tag: writing

  • 9. Dear Pilgrim: On Rage

    9. Dear Pilgrim: On Rage

    To read more context for the letter below, check out this post here:) An extra note this week. This letter lived between chapters about when I finally let myself get really angry (about a whole bunch of stuff I talked about in the book) during my 2017 hike. It was one of the best things I…

  • 6. Dear Pilgrim: On Honoring Your Story

    6. Dear Pilgrim: On Honoring Your Story

    As you fall into a natural rhythm, the resonance of your boots against the gravel will become a familiar sound. There is a cadence, a “sacred pace,” as they call it.

  • An Inevitable Turn Toward Craft: The Antidote for AI

    An Inevitable Turn Toward Craft: The Antidote for AI

    There’s a mental game I like to play when I’m out with friends. How many minutes will it take for ChatGPT to slip into the conversation? I’m not immune to the rage and anxiety that comes with AI showing up uninvited to the party—not to mention nearly every commercial during the Olympics—and nor should I…

  • The First Connection

    The First Connection

    Two Septembers ago, my husband and I sat at a long wooden table built for 12 in a hostel in the middle of Spain. There were only four of us at dinner that night–Ben and I, the owner of the hostel, and a man from Denmark who was volunteering there for the year. The pandemic…

  • A Freelance Writing Guide for the Coronavirus Shutdown

    Marketing writing is pretty ideal for the theatrical brain. Many agencies use personas or a target audience when they send you an assignment. It’s very similar to getting into the mind of a character if they were about to wander the internet to buy something.

  • My First Full Year of Freelancing

    This is more of a practical post for a change. I’ve had a few people reach out to see how freelance writing was going, so I’ve written a a rundown of my experience in the first full year. Also, if you’re one of the many people who found this blog over the holiday season by…

  • A Note on Belonging

    I had a pretty difficult time returning from both of my Caminos. The noise of American televisions, the lack of connection with people in your neighborhood as you walk down the street, the speed of everyday life. The biggest shock driving home from the airport was the rigid geometry of the streets in our suburban…

  • A Book Without a Story

    I’ve found that writing a book about an incredibly long hike often mirrors the metaphors of hiking the darn thing itself. Look back too often at where you came from, and you get wrapped up in premature editing. But an occasional healthy glance at where you started reminds you of your progress. Last fall, I…

  • Learning to Write Again

    Yesterday, I spent my afternoon painting two old adirondack chairs that we found on a curb in Cape May while on vacation. Frustrated with my writing, I hauled my grouchy self to Home Depot with a hoard of feisty gardeners and purchased outdoor furniture paint, some gorilla glue, and a whole bunch of sandpaper. For…

  • AOC Challenge Week 2: Coffee and People Watching!

    Hello! in 2018, I’ve decided to start my own personal writing challenge based on “Acts of Connection,” something I thought about while hiking the Camino de Santiago. You can find the whole story here. In a nutshell, the past year’s terrifying political climate has distanced me even more from my community, and I’m seeking 52…