209: Summer Echoes: How to Write about Life When Everyday Is a Reminder of Death?

Originally published in November of 2023, we are talking about hot topic/cold prose and when and why to write in the present tense vs. past. The story we share is written in the present tense, which gives readers the feeling that they're going through the situation with the narrator, in real time. Today’s essay is by Dr. Colleen Arnold who is a physician and freelance writer in Lexington, Virginia. Dr. Arnold has written for Insider, Wall Street Journal, Chicken Soup for the Soul among others. She is a mom to three adult daughters and grandmother to a two-year-old. When she’s not with patients or family, she’s hiking with her dog, doing yoga, or camping in her minivan. You can find her on Facebook and on her Website . Writing Class Radio is hosted by Allison Langer and Andrea Askowitz . Audio production by Matt Cundill , Evan Surminski, Chloe Emond-Lane, and Aiden Glassey at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music is by Justina Shandler . A transcription of this episode is available here. There’s more writing class on our website including stories we study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon . If you want to write with us every week, you can join our First Draft weekly writers groups. You have the option to join me on Tuesdays 12-1 ET. You’ll write to a prompt and share what you wrote. If you’re a business owner, community activist, group that needs healing, entrepreneur and you want to help your team write better, check out all the classes we offer on our website, writingclassradio.com. Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and the support from other writers. To learn more, go to . Or sign up HERE for First Draft for a FREE Zoom link. A new episode will drop every other WEDNESDAY. There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. What’s yours? See Privacy Policy at and California Privacy Notice at .

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209: Summer Echoes: How to Write about Life When Everyday Is a Reminder of Death? is an episode from writing class radio by writing class radio.

This episode is 00:16:28 long.

This episode was published on Jul 16, 2025.

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