Category: Essays

Essays

Why shopping local this season matters more than ever #BlackFriday #SmallBusinessSaturday

Mandy Webster

There’s something grounding about wandering through a local market this time of year — the scents of handmade candles and soaps, the sound of live music, and the tables stacked with handmade goods and books you won’t find in chain stores. It’s a reminder that real people, not algorithms, make and sell the things we love.

Crowds, chaos, and checkout lines—Black Friday madness is in full swing. This holiday season, consider the impact of where you shop.

As prices rise and global supply chains feel the strain of new tariffs, it’s worth thinking about where your money goes. Local artisans, authors, and small-business owners may have inventory they stocked before costs increased, meaning your purchases support both your community and your own budget. I stocked up my pop-up book and gift shop earlier this year and haven’t had to raise my prices yet — a small act of foresight that’s keeping things affordable for my local shoppers.

Continue reading “Why shopping local this season matters more than ever #BlackFriday #SmallBusinessSaturday” →
Essays

Thankful for stories: how books anchor us during the holidays

Mandy Webster

As the holidays approach, our lives often feel packed with family obligations, travel, and the endless bustle of preparation. It’s easy to get swept up in the chaos, but there’s a quiet refuge I return to every year: stories. Books have a way of anchoring us, even during the busiest, most stressful times, offering both comfort and connection.

Some of my favorite stories are those I’ve heard around the dinner table with family and friends!

I’m grateful for the ways reading bridges generations—like the book you lent your sister, or the series your grandma read to you as a child, which she also read to your father and that you eventually shared with your own kids. Stories create shared experiences across time, connecting us in ways that linger long after the last page is turned.

Continue reading “Thankful for stories: how books anchor us during the holidays” →
Essays

Writing (and reading) through the holiday chaos: finding focus when life gets loud

Mandy Webster

The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and connection, but for many of us, they also bring a whirlwind of obligations: family gatherings, travel, shopping, cooking, and endless to-do lists. Amid the chaos, finding time to write, read, or simply pause can feel impossible. Yet even during the busiest season of the year, it’s possible to carve out moments for creativity and reflection—if you approach it with intention and compassion.

Amid the holiday bustle, it’s important to carve out a moment for yourself to write and reflect—even when life around you is loud.
  • Set smaller, achievable goals: When life is hectic, long writing sessions or ambitious reading lists can feel overwhelming. Break your projects into smaller, manageable chunks. Write for twenty minutes in the morning, read a chapter before bed, or jot down ideas in a notebook while sipping your coffee. Small, consistent efforts often add up more than you realize—and they keep your creative momentum alive.
Continue reading “Writing (and reading) through the holiday chaos: finding focus when life gets loud” →
Essays, Novel Writing, Saving the World One Story at a Time

How to tell your own authentic stories while also supporting marginalized voices

Mandy Webster

As an author, I believe that I have a responsibility to create diverse works that do not present the world as a one-dimensional space where only certain people are welcome to exist. This can be a tricky balancing act for a white writer like myself. I want my novels to be diverse, but I also do not want to unknowingly reinforce stereotypes that I may not be aware of. I do not want to cross the line into cultural appropriation or telling stories about experiences that may not align with my own. For the past few years, I have been taking an #ownvoices approach to this subject, and I feel like I have learned a lot from the experience.

My novel If You Didn’t See It Coming is an example of an #ownvoices book even though people of color are not at the forefront of the story. It’s an accounting of marginalized characters (namely women) involved in domestic violence situations, many of which are inspired by my own experiences with a violent abuser. Although the characters are fictional, and their stories are not a retelling of my own story, it still illustrates the struggles of a marginalized group of people.

Because I was telling the story from my own perspective, the main characters are all white. There is very little intersectionality of identities because I was telling the story from the perspective of a cis white woman. However, I did consider representation and intersectionality while writing the novel. I considered making my main characters more diverse, but I didn’t feel right about trying to write what I consider to be someone else’s story.

Continue reading “How to tell your own authentic stories while also supporting marginalized voices” →
Essays, Parenting

Dear high school graduates

Mandy Webster

With high school graduations coming up, I have a message that I’d like to put out here for any high schooler who desperately wants to go to college but believes they can’t afford it:

Just get there.

I know you’re looking at those student financial aid packages and the amount of money you still have to come up with on your own, and you’re thinking it just isn’t possible. But I’m telling you it is.

Just get there.

Take whatever free money you can get. “Free” meaning you never have to pay it back. Take only what you need in student loans to actually pay for your tuition and dorm room (if you need one,) and then start looking for a job on or near campus. Ask the financial aid office to set up a payment plan. Work your ass off this summer and save up as much money as possible to help pay for that first year of school. Don’t worry about the second year yet. Just figure out how to pay for that first semester.

Just get there.

Continue reading “Dear high school graduates” →
Essays

I’ve been struggling with race: Inclusive writing for the white writer

Mandy Webster

I’ve been struggling.

I know my struggle as a white person pales in comparison with the struggles of People of Color in the United States and other parts of the world. But I am struggling. Because I know I’ve been brought up in a racial world, and I want to be a good person who treats all human beings as if they are equal. Because I know – intellectually – that we are. However, it’s hard to know the “right way” to go about this when you’ve been steeped in racist messaging your entire life.

I want my writing to be inclusive, but I don’t know how to accomplish this. I’m trying to learn how. I’m reading lots of non-fiction books on the subject and fiction by people of color (see brief list of recommended reading at the bottom of this post). I’ve also watched in horror as other white writers have been ravaged on Twitter for doing it wrong. What if I mess up, despite my best efforts? What if that happens to me? Or worse, what if I unintentionally hurt people with my ignorance?

Continue reading “I’ve been struggling with race: Inclusive writing for the white writer” →
Essays

To wear a mask, or not to wear a mask? That is the #COVID-19 question.

Mandy Webster

To wear a mask, or not to wear a mask? That seems to be the battleground on which so many Americans appear to be ready to die during this COVID-19 crisis. Why are we battling each other? Are the heated arguments with the people we love really worth it? Is this pandemic making us all feel so helpless that we just need to feel like we’re doing something, even if all we can do is either try to enforce mask-wearing on others or try to preserve our right not to wear a mask?

Homemade masks for the pandemic
My mom and Aunt Becki have been cranking out masks like you wouldn’t believe the past several weeks to make sure everyone that wants one can have one. These are some my mom sent me. Strawberry Shortcake, yeah!

I mean, you should probably wear a mask. That’s what the doctors and scientists are telling us to do, and it seems legit to me. But what if it doesn’t seem legit to you? I mean, yeah, you did wake up an American citizen this morning, so you do have a right to do whatever you want to do, as long as you’re not infringing on someone else’s rights. Continue reading “To wear a mask, or not to wear a mask? That is the #COVID-19 question.” →

Domestic Violence, Essays, Memoir

Single, Never Married

Mandy Webster

I’m a dedicated Swagbucks addict, which means I participate in online surveys on practically a daily basis. As most surveys do, these usually collect your typical demographic data, such as sex, race, gross annual income, and marital status. These should be relatively easy questions to answer, but I’ve often hesitated when I came upon the marital status question. I know what the technical answer is, but I have strong feelings regarding what I feel is my “real” answer.

The marital status question typically gives the survey respondent the options of married, divorced, something regarding living with someone you’re not married to, and single/never married. Technically, I was legally married at one time, and I was then legally divorced after about ten years of said legal marriage. However, when I look back upon that marriage, I don’t feel as though I was ever actually “married.” Continue reading “Single, Never Married” →

Essays, Illinois

Don’t tell me how to feel about the weather

Mandy Webster

I deeply resent being told how to feel about the weather. The weather man tries to tell me how lovely it will be with the sun shining all day, but all I want is fog and rain. The earth is so dry, and so are my patio planters.

I borrowed this photo from Google images to use as my desktop because this is what beautiful weather looks like to me. But now, I can’t remember where I got it, and I’d really like to credit the photographer. I’m quite certain I got it on a royalty free site (because I always go royalty free.) Anyway, before I write a photo caption that’s longer than my blog post, I just want to say that if this photo belongs to you, please get in touch with me so I can link to your website!

Ninety+ degrees. I’ll complain about the heat if I like. Don’t tell me I can’t just because it will be cold soon. I’ll take twenties over nineties any day. I’m chunky, okay? Hot weather isn’t fun when your body parts stick together, and you no longer wear shorts because you’re just not comfortable showing quite that much skin. Continue reading “Don’t tell me how to feel about the weather” →

Creative Nonfiction, Essays, Publishing

How to know when you’ve “made it” as a writer

Mandy Webster

Hitting a writing milestone is one of the greatest feelings for a writer, especially when you meet your own self-imposed deadlines early. This week, I finished writing book two of my Valley of the Bees novel series and am now working on my second draft (my goal was to finish the rough draft by the end of March). I also just ordered the second proof of an essay collection that I am editing, titled, As Good as a Feast: Essays on Enough. Once I have reviewed this second proof, the book should be ready to go to print!

As Good as a Feast - Print Cover Image

Yesterday, an article popped up in my newsfeed. The title caught my eye, but I decided not to read it. The topic was on how to know when you’ve “made it” as a writer. I didn’t need to read it because I feel like I have already made it. Continue reading “How to know when you’ve “made it” as a writer” →