Jen Anne Becker

I wanted to be an editor. That's all I knew when I started college nearly ten years ago. I had no idea if that was a practical goal, or whether I wanted to edit books, magazines, newspapers, or a combination of the three. I just knew that I had a love for words and a passion for working with words to create a document or manuscript that was the best version of itself.

Fast forward eight years, I found myself in a Publishing Practicum class at the University of Iowa where the professor addressed each of the nine students as "Editors." We were THE Editors of the 4th Annual Iowa Chapbook Prize! I was an Editor! It was only a semester-long gig, but I felt like I'd finally made it.

During that semester I applied and was accepted into the Denver Publishing Institute where I gained more in-depth knowledge and experience with copy editing, proofreading, and marketing from professionals in the publishing industry.

January 2022, I will begin a new graduate program: MA in Professional Creative Nonfiction Writing with the University of Denver. In the mean time, I am considering independent editing, proofreading, and writing opportunities in varying genres from business or educational documents to fiction, creative non-fiction, and memoir. Contact me at Jen.Anne.Becker@gmail.com with information about your project and how I can help you.

6th January 2021

To Be Honest

I argue with myself constantly about what I need to do or what I want to do and why I should do “stuff,” trying to figure out why my body and mind won’t agree.

26th November 2020

One Day at a Time

I’ve been through a lot in my lifetime thus far, or so I’ve been told. To me it’s just life. I don’t recognize what others term as “a lot” until or unless I’m told by an outside observer that what I’ve experienced is more than the usual lot – sometimes not even then.

Truths May Be Larger Than They Appear

I’m not one to share “viral” posts. I am also not the type of person who spouts comments in outrage if I disagree with what is being shared. Instead, I decided to write a blog post about it.

500 Words • 9th May 2020

To Mask or Not to Mask

Additionally, the wearing of a mask typically identified the wearer as ill and likely contagious. My initial decision to not wear a mask had a great deal to do with that stigma. I was afraid of misrepresenting myself as somebody who could infect others with a sickness that I didn’t have.

500 Words • 1st May 2020

Will Iowa's Post-Quarantine Normal be a Lasting New Normal?

Today is the day that 77 of 99 counties in Iowa were allowed to reopen businesses at 50 percent. Today in the state of Iowa, there were 739 additional cases of COVID-19 and eight more deaths from the coronavirus, as reported by The Daily Iowan.

500 Words • 28th April 2020

I'll Do Me

I know how bad I am when I get sick, so I do everything in my power to avoid any kind of sickness. And I don’t really have time in my life to be down and out with a bad cold either. Whenever it is within my capability, I do what I can to prevent the spread of any sickness that is going around. Why should I do any different with the coronavirus?

500 Words • 26th April 2020

Line-Editing Life, Post-Quarantine - Part 2

When the pandemic took away all forms of social interaction, Zoom (and various other video platforms) came to the rescue. We all desired to live as close to normal as possible in our newly quarantined environments.

500 Words • 25th April 2020

Line-Editing Life, Post-Quarantine

We are closing in on approximately two-months of the Coronavirus pandemic in the United States, give or take a week or so depending on what part of the country you live in. Thinking about all of the quarantine-induced changes that have taken place in daily life, I find myself wondering what of those changes will bleed into post-quarantine living. It seems a likely possibility that some changes could stay in place.

500 Words • 23rd April 2020

Anxiety Over Having Anxiety About Having Anxiety

I miss my kids. I miss my grandkids. I miss my family and my normal life. I know I’m not alone. Anxiety builds up in the hopes of an end to life-lockdown only to find out that shelter-in-place has been extended yet another 30 days. It has to end soon, right?

500 Words • 21st April 2020

Together Alone or #AloneTogether

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the #AloneTogether idea that is promoted throughout media as we wait for the surge of Covid-19 to come and go. It wasn’t that long ago when many considered it problematic that so many people, (particularly young people), would spend time together, but alone.

500 Words • 18th April 2020

Does this mask make my face look...?

Ten minutes. That’s how long I sat in my parked car in the third row of the Hy-Vee parking lot, face mask in hand. Whenever I used to see people wearing a medical mask, I would immediately assume that they were sick with something contagious, prompting me to move to the other side of the store. But ever since the pandemic became real

500 Words • 13th April 2020

Finding Joy

In dealing with the covid-19 pandemic, with enforced isolation and business shut-downs all around us, it’s easy to see the struggles over anything joyful. Optimist that I am, I’ve always been a firm believer in looking for the good in everything. Several years ago, when I worked as a Teacher’s Aid with middle and high school students,

Photo by gemma on Unsplash

500 Words • 6th April 2020

Grocery Shopping Inconveniently

Convenience. I remember when stores like Wal-Mart and Target and Sam’s Club started making parking spaces for drive-up order pick-up only. How often will that parking actually get used for that purpose? I wondered. In fact, when my husband and I would go to stores with those specially designated spots, we often noticed how much they weren’t being used.

500 Words • 5th April 2020

For the Sake of Sunshine & Heart-hunting

Cooked spaghetti. That’s what my legs felt like after a simple 40-minute walk around the neighborhood. I just wanted to enjoy the sun and hunt for hearts.

500 Words • 2nd April 2020

Let it Be What it May

This seems like such a fitting mantra for today – and not the today that’s April 2, 2020. I’m referring to the big picture today, as in the state of being of our lives as a whole. Let it be what it may. Because, what else can we do? We are asked to avoid crowds of ten or more. Let it be what it may.

500 Words • 1st April 2020

From a Distance

This is Henry, my grandbaby. He’s seven-months-old and the happiest baby I’ve ever known. I’ve always heard how great it is to be a grandma, but never really grasped that concept until the first time I saw this baby’s smile.

500 Words • 29th March 2020

Alone but Not on Our Own

I felt inspired by words from Pastor Greg’s sermon this morning! He was talking about how this quarantine has separated and scattered us to our own houses, but that doesn’t mean we are on our own.

500 Words • 27th March 2020

Holding onto Hope

Shelter-in-place. Social distancing. Coping with this new – at least for the time-being – normal has not been easy. It is not easy. My husband and I made the decision yesterday to ask my daughter and her family not to come over for a couple of weeks. This broke my heart. It’s the last thing I wanted to do.