By Mary Rakow, Ph.D.

Dear Wonderful Writers,

I realized again recently, the power of community. The hope we feel when we gather with others. The power in that. The good in that. I remembered how community is a powerful form of resistance against despair. That it creates hope and even, often, joy.
 
So I asked a few writers whose work I’ve come to know in this difficult time, if they would be willing to share a moment in their own process when the writing zone felt really, really far away. That zone we each carry inside.  That zone that changes us when
we enter it.  We experience a different kind of time. We come out less stressed. Our outlook, our demeanor, everything better. 

When getting into the zone was a challenge, what did they do? What happened?
They responded. And it is an absolute honor to bring you their words. Their vulnerability.  Their courage. Their victories.

Some supplied website and email addresses should you want to ask a question. Which is also very generous! These are beautiful gifts. Enjoy!
 
                                                            

1

John R. Cammidge
 
Recently, I approved my latest novel, 1914 to 1918: A Time to Remember, for
release by Gatekeeper Press in time for Veterans’ Day. Writing it was a three-
year journey marked by numerous frustrations. It was family, friends, and
professionals who kept me in the writer’s seat. That first draft was oh-so-
boring. My English grandfather Osmond, on whose life I based the story, had
no personality; the spoken dialogue was terrible; life on the Western Front
was just a series of events; and there was no Prologue or Afterword to explain
the narrative.  
 
Yet a friend of mine told me that the plot had potential and asked all members
of my Book Club to read my first draft. They agreed with him and directed me
to conduct more research, focus on human rather than military events, and
include maps and a glossary so readers would understand what I was
discussing. I have done this and received reinforcement from friends and
family, including input from my former boss at Bank of America. 
 
Now Osmond has character, I have plugged holes in the story, the dialogue is
no longer clumsy, and the purpose and consequences of combat are less
important than human relationships. The novel has evolved into a love story,
featuring a protagonist who serves with quiet dignity as a horse transport
driver for the British Army in France during World War 1. Based on my
experience, I encourage writers to persevere through periods of exasperation
to produce the best stories possible.

Johnrcammidge.com    hessay@comcast.net
Published work: Unplanned, Abandoned in Berlin, She Wore a Yellow Dress 
1914 to 1918 A Time to Remember (forthcoming)
 

2

JoAnne Silver Jones
 
My novel grew from a snippet I wrote in response to a writing prompt.  The
story and characters took root, lingering in the periphery of my awareness
through tumultuous times in my life., until I heeded the call of the characters
and the story, that I believed, needed telling.
 
Writing brought me to a place where the limitations and worries of my
ordinary life evaporated , as I became immersed with the characters, their
foibles, and our collective determination to tell this story.  Believing that what
I’d written was worth releasing, was harder than the hours and years spent
writing. I’m in my 70’s.  I’ve never written a novel before.  It’s about a volatile
subject.
 
My fear-laced self-talk continued until I placed my manuscript in an orange file
folder, inside a priority mail envelope, and handed the package to the postal
clerk.  There it was, resting in a postal bin about to travel beyond the privacy
of my mind.  My heart leapt.  I wanted to hug the clerk, tell him the parcel
held my first novel, and ask him to dance.

Published Memoir:  Headstrong: Surviving a Traumatic Brain Injury (She
Writes Press, 2019)  
Novel in progress:  Only Way Out (working title)

3 

Barbara Mallet Frye
 
I’ve never experienced such a deep depression. I was just 60 plus years old
and, due to not eating much during the past month, had experienced such a
weight loss that I actually thought I was dying. 
 
At the beginning of the second month of trauma? I was determined not to
give up on life: I jumped out of bed that morning and yelled. “Devil,  get the
HELL OUT OF MY LIFE!!”
 
Long story, short…I chose life and was determined to get my joy back.  Part of
my unique method was to use my monthly discretionary funds to purchase
the most phenomenal, fine chocolate I knew of.
 
Thanks to my favorite chocolatier (Fran’s of Seattle) I could share these
exquisite, palate pleasing truffles, salt caramels and chocolate enrobed dried
fruit, with family, friends and complete strangers. That outreach makes for
frequent mini parties. What a blast!!
 
I have a great need to share of my substance, because I owe my very life to
Seattle Children’s Hospital and a praying, devoted  single mother (of 8
children!!). To share my joie de vivre I have taken the opportunity to offer
writer and pianist scholarships. 

frye.barbara.l@gmail.com 
 
 

4                                            

 Kurt Wallace
 
I’ve been working for years on a novel — my attempt to show how a truly
successful community in the future might function. In this country, based on
our current NOW, what will that community have to address, what new rules
and agreements will it need? 
 
In trying to write that novel, I decided I had to write a much shorter piece that
begins at the beginning: a story about a small group that didn’t have a
manifesto for how to live better together, but instead just got started doing it. 

I spoke about writing community at the recent Bay Area Book Festival,
describing how the San Francisco Writers Workshop (I’m a moderator for
SFWW) has a very few rules that tightly govern the group, and how that group
has thrived for decades, serving thousands of writers, with just a little
discipline and an open-hearted approach. All of this has strengthened my
belief in community as both a method and a destination for writers.

kurtkilted@gmail.com
 
 

5

Sandra Schnakenburg

There was a moment during the writing of The Housekeeper’s Secret when I
shut my laptop in complete despair, convinced I couldn’t go on.  Quitting
meant breaking a promise to my beloved housekeeper, Lee. The emotional
weight of Lee’s story—and my own—felt too heavy to carry, and I questioned
whether I had the strength or the right to tell it. 
I recall watching Viola Davis’s 2017 Oscar acceptance speech for Best
Supporting Actress she won for “Fences” – she said “Exhume those bodies.
Exhume those stories, the stories of the people who dreamed big and never
saw those dreams to fruition, people who fell in love and lost.”  That was my
final kick in the pants – I finally finished the story.  
Then after months of silence, I picked up a pen—not to write the book, but
just to write something, anything, to feel connected to the page again. I
reached out to mentors, revisited the weight of my promise to Lee, and
reminded myself why this story mattered. The whispers of Lee’s spirit led me
to slowly, through small acts of courage, return to the pages. 
Finishing the memoir became not just an act of writing, but an act of
resistance against silence, a reminder to every writer that even in moments of
darkness, the story is still there—waiting for you to come back. 
On 12/3/2024 The Housekeeper’s Secret was released into the world, now six
months since the release it has recognized with seven literary awards,
including IBPA Gold Book Award for- Best Memoir, IPPY-Silver-Memoir, Eric
Hoffer-finalist First Horizon award and Honorable Mention for the Grand Prize
award, Firebird, 2024 Best Memoir, Non-fiction Book association – Gold
Award- Memoir, and most recently a Finalist for International Book Awards.  I
am so grateful I picked up a pen and kept going. . . the world can’t stop
talking about Lee and this incredible story.  Never give up on a dream, the
world awaits our voices!  

Please pick up your copy wherever books are sold. 

https://a.co/d/cS5QWkh www.SandraSchnakenburg.com
  
~~
Let’s do this! Let’s overcome our obstacles and put into the world the story only we can write. The story we carry in our heart. If I can help, reach out to me. Reach out to others. Together, step by step, we can change the world. We can make it a better place. Because every single step matters. Because every hidden act of hope changes the entire planet.
 
Mary
maryrakow1@gmail.com
www.maryrakow.com
 
© Mary Rakow, 2025

Mary Rakow, Ph.D. is a Harvard graduate living in San Francisco where she
freelance edits. Her own novels, THIS IS WHY I CAME and THE MEMORY
ROOM received prestigious literary awards and were taught at Yale and
Princeton. To plan how you can reach your own writing dream, please visit
www.maryrakow.com or contact maryrakow1@gmail.com.

“Mary sets a level of excellence, in both life and writing, that is
extraordinary.” –Dianne R.