I can’t end racism and I can’t stop a pandemic and I can’t unseat a president. But what I can do is lean into the thing that awakens my heart.
Your neighbor’s experience may not be the same as yours. In fact, it probably isn’t.
My un-becoming was like the wringing out of a wet towel.
Every piece of writing – fiction, nonfiction, screenplays, essays, book proposals, academic journals, short stories, poems – is personal.
When a reader dives into another world, they should be able to close their eyes and feel as though they are truly standing in the middle of it. Whether it’s the ballroom of an 18thcentury Russian aristocrat, a depressed Oxford University professor’s study, or a millennial’s shabby-chic Brooklyn apartment, the description should be dripping with tactile detail.
My jitters and heart palpitations for today’s costume fitting was a bad omen for what the jitters and heart palpitations would be like in 24 hours.
Anyone can follow these 8 easy steps to become a successful writer. Writing isn’t easy but these steps nearly guarantee success in an exciting career!
Ten times over the last twelve years, I’ve gathered up my possessions, thrown things in boxes, and headed elsewhere.
The whole earth, as I know it, will be razed to the ground and I’m cheering like I won tickets to Disneyworld.
We reached altitude and the pilot turned off the Fasten Seatbelt sign. I immediately jumped up to retrieve Big Magic from my bag. There wasn’t enough space to bring back a morsel of Callier chocolate, but I managed to shove that well-worn hardback into a bag whose seams were on the verge of bursting open.
I’m not sure when precisely it happened, maybe in my mid-20s, but my body cannot tolerate spicy foods any more. It (my body) rejects them orally, gastrointestinally, and sleepily.
After taking the contacts out of my eyes, I fell into bed, fast asleep before my head even hit the pillow. My final thought was, “I have never been this tired in my life.”
I did my best impression of a normal person. I scanned the hallway. There was no one around but I thought it best practice to maintain the “normal person” persona.
As my eyes slowly cracked open, I took in the room around me. Oh that’s right! I wasn’t in LA. I was in Florence freaking Italy!
Not looking at art in Florence is like going to Disneyland just to check out the gift shop.
The tastes, the textures, the people, the air itself, all felt like a thing to which I belonged.
I’m not sure if you know this but Switzerland is not in America.
I’m caught between what I want to do and what I should do. Right now, I’m going through something that I really want to write about. It’s a story that’s ripe (rife? wife? write?) with tension. There are twists and turns, comedy and tragedy. Writing this story would be cathartic and would help in my…
I felt like such a grown up. I was 15 at the time, maybe 16. It was a casual dinner at my friends’ house and, yes, I felt entitled enough to call them my friends though they were much older than me. At that point I had known them for about a year or so….
Actor 1. He stands before a camera in a room that usually serves as a conference room. A condescending casting director who is really just a bitter, failed actor sits on the other side of a long plastic table. Headshots, resumes, lunch wrappers, and various office supplies are splayed out before the casting director. He’s…
I have no idea what to write about this week, you guys. I’m sorry. But rather than give you nothing, I’m going to produce a little shitty something for you. Perhaps by the end of it, you’ll have discovered that sometimes nothing is better than something. By the end, you may wish to unsubscribe (full…
[Warning: This post contains discussion of bodily functions. There will be minimal detail and lots of euphemism. If that’s still not your jam, check out this cat video instead.] It’s high time we have the bathroom talk, you guys. And by that, I mean I’m high in the bathroom…so let’s talk! Everybody does it, so I’m…
I had a most magical and touching moment last weekend. My uncle (hitherto known as Uncle) was in town for an art conference here in the ATL. In spite of everyone’s busy schedules, we managed to get together for dinner. It was me, Uncle, Mom, Sister, Brother-in-Law, Niece, Nephew, and Uncle’s GF (Rachel). We sat at…