The Writers’ Block Podcast

It took us 5 years to get to this point, and we are going to celebrate LOUDLY! Come and celebrate with us!

Writers are witnesses, agitators, and truth-tellers! The work we do is needed and necessary! Write like your life depends on it! Works mentioned: The Source of Self-Regard (T. Morrison), Bad Feminist (R. Gay) and WRITING IN A TIME OF SOCIAL CHANGE (MasterClass taught by R. Gay). SEND FOR A POET segment is by Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre. The work is called “VOTING AS A FIRE EXTINGUISHER.” Follow him o...

“Black people need witnesses in a world that thinks everything is White.” -James Baldwin

The work of the writer can be thankless…but we do it anyway.

There is a White woman on TikTok who believes the LORD told her to “sanctify” Iniko’s song Jericho—to make it sound more Christian and less “demonic.” Where have I/We/Us heard that before?

The most glorious moment in fiction writing is when the characters take over. The scariest thing is fiction writing is when the characters take over! For this episode, we’ll examine how great this is…and how scary that just might be.

Whew! And just like that then month of September is hours from being over. Let’s take time to reflect on September, which is BACK TO WRITING MONTH, and the proceeding 9. Onward to 2024!

At the time of this recording, recording artists/rapper/emcee/aka ESCO, NAS has released his 6th album in 3 years. For this episode, we are going to explore just how powerful (and needed) creative energy is. Note: listen to the end of this episode for a special announcement for February 2024 (Accounts to follow: IG: @authorjbharris, TT: @whatjayesaid2.0, Podcast: WHATJAYESAID: THE PODCAST). Note:...

VENGEANCE IS THE BODY is available on Amazon/Kindle. This reading was done on Saturday, September 23, 2023.

There will never be a time where the artist is not needed! And for the cards, for this noble guild, we do what we must. Artist are truth, tellers, soothsayers, and a type of magician. It is through our work, and weaving, for the force of our own imaginations, that we prove to the world that we are more alike than we are different. For what can experience, Grant, they may be uncommon to another man...

The Black writers who shaped my life, who I quote and study—are either aging or dead. When Yolande Cornelia Giovanni, Jr. (Nikki Giovanni) turned 80 this past June, this was driven home to me. My Foremothers…are leaving. Leaving! Where do we go from here?

Sometimes you have to encourage yourself and other people. In listening to BlackFluidPoet (podcast is the same name—listen to the episode titled “THE FOREST”), I want to answer the question of “Who is even listening?” The answer is this: the people who need to hear. Artists are a different type of healer…and we are more needed just like medicine…

For this episode, we are going to focus on what is currently happening in the Houston. Independent school district. Libraries are being closed for lack of a better word in order to make room for detention centers within schools that are being created under the guise of helping children to learn to learn how to read. We’ve been here before… Haven’t we? Read here: https://t.co/PhO0TkEpBi Extras: fol...

Tweeting. Facebooking. Instagramming, Duets. Stitching. Going Live. All these verbs are now part of our writing reality. Yet as technology changes, and these things are changed, improved, or even lost… How do we as writers manage that? Follow me on TT: @whatjayesaid2.0/shesgottapen2.0; IG: @authorjbharris SPILL: WHATJAYESAID Twitter: @authorjbharris/@theladyofharris FB: Jennifer Bush-Harris

There are certain things that feel like wins and like losses as a writer—which is individual to the writer who experiences them. And yet…we keep going… in spite of.

If you ask a writer, what successes… They may not have a easy answer for you. Success is as individual as the writer whom you ask. In this two-part show explore what that means, what success really is, and what success actually means to me. Also! Listen all the way to the end of the show to hear about YOUR LIFE THE MIXTAPE MAGAZINE! I also am a feature writer for it—AND ITS FREE! Check out my colu...

There is something to be said for checking the work you abandoned, and what you got distracted from getting back to. For this episode, let it me a reminder to go back and look again—you might be surprised at what you find!

At the time of this recording, the Writers Guild of America is still on strike. So often, this profession, this art, is not honored. And it’s time that we start doing that. Without a writer nothing moves.

With all that’s going on in the world AI, it’s just the newest innovation of what writers have faced for centuries. With every new invention that seeks to replace human creativity, it must be kept in proper perspective. For this particular show, I give my opinion on just how, I think AI can be useful, and what makes it detrimental.

As of this show, we are nine days from our fourth year anniversary of podcasting. It is amazing just how far this platform has come, and how much further it Hass to go. There is an exuberance on the show, and energy on this show, that only a black woman can bring. Come and share this joy… A Black woman did this.

The adage is that history is written by the winners. Yet, I pose you this question: is history really with written by the winner or is it written by the people who survived? And are still surviving? Being a primary resource, you have to understand that it is your responsibility to record what is happening around you… AND TO YOU in times of social upheaval and change! Toni Morrison said that artist...

Every Writer needs a résumé! A document that can be given out. We need a necessary that tracks and celebrates all of your accomplishments. The thing that is so amazing about your write a résumé is it is built by you. I can also be neglected by you. Make time to update it every so often, and celebrate over it… Every so often. Note: AND KEEP IT UPDATED!

One of the things most crucial in your writing journey is the management and control of your intellectual property. While there are many reputable places for you to submit your work (and you should!) there are also places that will take your work. It is essential for you as your own advocate, the proprietor of your intellectual property to read your releases. There should never be a time when you...

I know it seems that all is lost, and success may never come, but trust me—it is on the way. Keep going.

As this project ends, I thought I would be fitting to end it with a sample of the work you will find in the title listed. It has been my hope, that you have gotten some encouragement, entertainment, and maybe remember just how complex love is… And how deep you can go. this book is available on Amazon and Kindle now. make sure that you rate, recommend, and review this podcast whatever you find it....