Jody T. Morse
Jody T. Morse is more than the average award-winning, multi-genre writer. An acclaimed speaker and event panelist, Morse has been a presenter for Comicpalooza, Houston Writers House, Writefest, the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, Houston Grand Opera, and other prestigious national organizations. This prolific writer has seen the publication of over three dozen of her print magazine articles, two dozen online articles/blog posts, and a dozen poems. Her short stories appear in seven different anthologies to date and she’s a repeat writer for Houstonia, ArtHouston, TexasLiving, The Machine, Verbatim Poetry, Haiku Journal, Luna Station Quarterly, and Interstellar Flight magazines. In 2017, Morse founded Bountiful Balcony Books to help emerging poets and writers get their words into the world. Via this boutique press, she has published five books including her writing prompt series, Splintered Musings, and two poetry collections. Morse has also worked for editing organizations like Before & After and The Writership, consulted for small presses, assisted with social media and online marketing for individual authors, and coordinated publishing-related events for bookstores and guilds. She is an active member of literary organizations such as Writespace and is on the board of the Woodlands Writing Guild. Morse is also known for being a gentle yet effective educator for writers and poets. Residing in the heart of the Sam Houston national forest, she does most of her writing from the haven of her balcony garden and spends her free time helping rescue neglected and abandoned horses and hounds. Visit her online at www.bountifulbalconybooks.com/Jodytmorse
Excerpt of an interview with Jody at Literative:
Jody Townsley Morse is a woman of many talents: beta reader, horse rehabilitator, creative writing program coordinator, freelancer, author, blogger and phrase florist. It should be no wonder then, that her many interests have also led her to be a multi-genre author. She’s written a little bit of everything from short stories to magazine articles and poetry. Lucky for us, she’s agreed to share her journey through the ups and downs of the writing world.
There are many different arguments both for and against writing in multiple genres, why did you choose to go this route over focusing on one specific style?
It’s a blessing and a curse to enjoy, and be decent at, writing in multiple genres. My muse is still young and wild; she has yet to be tamed or made to settle on one genre. Eventually, I might need to focus my efforts in order to build my readership or hone my craft. But for now, I’m having fun playing the genre field and I’ve met so many amazing writers from across the writing world. If I pinned myself to penning one genre, I might miss out on these connections.
Writers often have to supplement their income as they work on their novels or work on getting published. Can you give us a few tips on how to get paid while you’re working towards getting published?
Be a slut. No, just teasing. Not a slut exactly but be open. Open to writing in genres you didn’t initially set out to write in or doing work that’s writing-related. My first paid writing gigs were articles for coffee table magazines and ghostwriting blog posts. The beauty of this: I was getting paid, padding my resume, and writing every day. Win, win, win. As I found myself needing and wanting to focus my writing time on more manuscript-length writing projects, I sought another immediate revenue stream that would also stick to my win, win, win plan. Working as a VA for editors, publishers, and writers filled the bill, as does professional beta reading and teaching.
Read the rest of the interview here.
Jody Townsley Morse is a woman of many talents: beta reader, horse rehabilitator, creative writing program coordinator, freelancer, author, blogger and phrase florist. It should be no wonder then, that her many interests have also led her to be a multi-genre author. She’s written a little bit of everything from short stories to magazine articles and poetry. Lucky for us, she’s agreed to share her journey through the ups and downs of the writing world.
There are many different arguments both for and against writing in multiple genres, why did you choose to go this route over focusing on one specific style?
It’s a blessing and a curse to enjoy, and be decent at, writing in multiple genres. My muse is still young and wild; she has yet to be tamed or made to settle on one genre. Eventually, I might need to focus my efforts in order to build my readership or hone my craft. But for now, I’m having fun playing the genre field and I’ve met so many amazing writers from across the writing world. If I pinned myself to penning one genre, I might miss out on these connections.
Writers often have to supplement their income as they work on their novels or work on getting published. Can you give us a few tips on how to get paid while you’re working towards getting published?
Be a slut. No, just teasing. Not a slut exactly but be open. Open to writing in genres you didn’t initially set out to write in or doing work that’s writing-related. My first paid writing gigs were articles for coffee table magazines and ghostwriting blog posts. The beauty of this: I was getting paid, padding my resume, and writing every day. Win, win, win. As I found myself needing and wanting to focus my writing time on more manuscript-length writing projects, I sought another immediate revenue stream that would also stick to my win, win, win plan. Working as a VA for editors, publishers, and writers filled the bill, as does professional beta reading and teaching.
Read the rest of the interview here.
Recommended Books for Aspiring Writers
- Steering the Craft by Ursula Le Guin
- The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
- How to Read and Why by Harold Bloom
- Eats Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
- Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Teaching Philosophy
Laughter is not only the best medicine, but it’s also an effective aid in education. I want students and attendees to leave my workshops and sessions thoroughly enlightened and educated, but also thoroughly entertained
Laughter is not only the best medicine, but it’s also an effective aid in education. I want students and attendees to leave my workshops and sessions thoroughly enlightened and educated, but also thoroughly entertained