Mother Writer Jackie Leonard

Today’s Mother Writer is Lucy Beckley, a writer, poet and marketing consultant based in Cornwall. As a regular contributor to Motherscope over the past year, I’ve grown to be an immense fan of Lucy’s beautiful writing and the way she strings together a seemingly simple moment with profound insight and validating conclusions. In this episode, Lucy walks us through her own process of reframing the mundane as marvelous and shares the steps she takes to find stories hidden in plain sight. At the end of the episode, Lucy lets us in on her current writing project and also reads an excerpt from her story, “Kisses in the Sky.” If you’re a mother who finds yourself second-guessing about the worthiness of your stories, turn up the volume and sit tight, we’re here to flip the script on that limited thinking and have you reaching for your Notes app.

Today’s Mother Writer is Leesha Mony. I’ve had the privilege of knowing Leesha for the past couple years as a member of Motherscope’s writing community and a regular contributor. In addition to writing and mothering Leesha is a somatic psychotherapist living in Seattle, Washington. In this episode, Leesha and I talk about her current writing project – a teachable memoir that follows her own lived experiences as a survivor navigating pregnancy, postpartum, and motherhood. Leesha shares the support and resources she’s utilized to help her stay committed to her writing process, and also reads an excerpt from her working draft. Are you in the middle of writing a book? Have you struggled with writing about trauma? Keep listening to hear what’s worked for us and more!
Visit this episode's blog post here.
Connect with Jackie on Instagram: @motherscope 
 

Calling all bookworms and bookworm wannabes! In this solo episode of Mother Writer, I’m unpacking Stephen King’s famous advice about reading and writing. Rather, I’m adapting it for us mother writers out there who would like to read more, and write more, but fall short even with the best of intentions and an ever-growing pile of books to be read. I’ll share why reading more has improved my writing in the past, and how I’ve kicked off 2023 reading more than I have in years. I’ve boiled it down to 5 things that have worked for me, and I’m sharing them with you. I couldn’t end the episode without some book recommendations, and you’ll hear what I’m currently reading as well as the next 6 books on my TBR list!
Visit this episode's blog post here.
Connect with Jackie on Instagram: @motherscope

Today's Mother Writer is Kristan Barczak. When I met Kristan via social media, I instantly felt connected to her because of the open and refreshing way she shares about motherhood, confronting often rage inducing topics with humor, anecdotes, and data. In this episode, Kristan and I have a conversation about the lies we tell ourselves when it comes to writing. We also discuss our experiences in the world of academia and the impact it had on our confidence as writers. Lastly, Kristan shares what helped her find the writing that is working best for her right now. If you struggle with insecurity around calling yourself a writer or have felt intimidated in literary or academic spaces, this episode is just what you need to replace the lies you tell yourself with some much needed truths.
Visit this episode's blog post here.
Connect with Jackie on Instagram: @motherscope

Today's Mother Writer is Kailyn Rhinehart. Kailyn is one of Motherscope's regular contributors, and I'm such a fan of her intentional, honest storytelling on motherhood. In addition to her creative writing, Kailyn is a professional writer, and in our conversation today, Kailyn shares what it looks like to make time for both types of writing in her schedule. We also talk about what drew her to writing more expressively and what she does to ensure she completes her work projects despite the unexpected curveballs of parenting. Have you been motivated to use your writing skills for compensated work? Keep listening to hear our thoughts on that and more.
Visit this episode's blog post here.
Connect with Jackie on Instagram: @motherscope 

In this episode of Mother Writer, I’m discussing the problem with having too many story ideas and not enough writing to show for it. I will walk you through a few recommendations you can implement early on in your writing process. They have worked for me in the past, and I am trying to incorporate them as well as I navigate three writing projects that are pulling me in opposite directions and taking me away from what I believe is also your goal - which is to get our ideas out of our heads and onto the page. So, if you're a writer who loves to collect ideas but has a more challenging time seeing those ideas through, grab some tea or coffee and get comfortable because you're going to feel very seen and validated and maybe a little called out in today's episode. Enjoy!
Visit this episode's blog post here.
Connect with Jackie on Instagram: @motherscope