About Real Quick: An Essay on Life in 10 Minutes a Day
Hi! I am Michelle Kennedy and I am an author, a mom of many, a lover of knits and a devoted reader and writer of the essay.
Backspace features essays on life, love, parenting and more - a literary experience in the time it takes to wade through the pick up line at school - or get to the store. Join us every week for new essays and new discussions on great writing - and not so great writing.
Read the essays at my website: mishkennedy.com (http://mishkennedy.com)
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-essays-on-everything-with-michelle-kennedy--6186916/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-essays-on-everything-with-michelle-kennedy--6186916/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss).
In this episode of Backspace: Essays on Everything, host Michelle Kennedy dives into Ernest Hemingway’s timeless essay The Art of the Short Story—a behind-the-scenes look at how Papa approached storytelling, discipline, and emotional restraint on the page.
What can modern writers learn from his brutal clarity and iceberg theory?
Why does so much of what he doesn’t say still cut to the bone?
Tune in as Michelle unpacks Hemingway’s six rules for writing, reflects on their relevance today, and explores how the short story remains a radical form of art in an attention-deficit world. Whether you're a writer, a lit nerd, or just Hemingway-curious, this episode is a love letter to craft, clarity, and the quiet revolution of the short form.
📚 Mentioned in the episode:
The Art of the Short Story by Ernest Hemingway
The iceberg theory
Hemingway’s writing habits and discipline
Michelle’s favorite short stories (and why they still work)
🔗 Subscribe for more literary deep dives, personal essays, and reflections on writing and life.
#Hemingway #ShortStories #WritingTips #Podcast #Literature #BackspacePodcast #MichelleKennedy
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-essays-on-everything-with-michelle-kennedy--6186916/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-essays-on-everything-with-michelle-kennedy--6186916/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss).
2 Jul 2025
Reading Joan Didion’s Holy Water – Stillness, Beauty, and the Art of Noticing
Writer Michelle Kennedy explores Joan Didion's essay *Holy Water*, reflecting on infrastructure, awe, and the art of noticing, ultimately revealing the power of slowing down.
21 Apr 2025
Slow. The. Fuck. Down.
Slow the fuck down.
This is my movement.
Slow the fuck down. I have to tell myself this now. Mostly because I just don’t have the physical energy to keep up with my brain now, in my 50’s. But I used to. And I exhausted myself more than once doing it. Slow the fuck down. The only thing I can still do as fast as my brain wants it to is type. I can get frantic. I have been frantic. Many times. Or I’ve felt it but you didn’t see it because I am so good at hiding my freneticism. Sometimes I feel it. Like my body wants to be frantic - and I have no reason to be. For many years, my life was frantic whether I wanted it to be that way or not. With eight kids total and usually 4 or 5 or 6 underfoot at any given time, I am used to being busy.
Read the rest here! (https://michellelouisekennedy.medium.com/slow-the-fuck-down-01e54df4b2e5)
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-essays-on-everything-with-michelle-kennedy--6186916/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-essays-on-everything-with-michelle-kennedy--6186916/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss).
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