May 8, 2020
A writing career, especially a successful one, is fraught with rejection. So much of it, in fact, it’s a small wonder anyone bothers anymore. How do you find self-confidence, that foundation of persuasive writing, when all evidence (rejection after rejection) seems to...
May 6, 2020
To have enough time and money to quit pretending you care about your day job and pursue your passion instead. That freedom is every creative’s dream, isn’t it? I can tell you, the novelty of it wears off pretty quickly. Years ago, much like every other budding writer...
May 5, 2020
I can’t say I envy literary agents. A great tsunami of pandemic manuscripts approaches that will flood their inboxes with either half-baked dystopian fiction set in a world devastated by a great plague, or bland memoirs telling the tale of life in lockdown. I...
Apr 29, 2020
Grit is the single, overwhelming instinct that drives our desire to challenge ourselves long after everyone else has quit. It helps us deal with boredom, difficulty, and failure that come with trying to master any one skill. Passion plays a huge role. But, as we know,...
Apr 27, 2020
Do you ever feel like you don’t belong? Like you’re out of place? I know I do. Most of the time, in fact. My usual coping mechanism is to pretend the opposite is true. As if the role I’m playing, or the mask I’m wearing isn’t a role or a mask, but that I’m right where...
Apr 23, 2020
I rode the U-Bahn (Berlin underground) the other day. Ten minutes of standing among strangers nervously glancing around for any signs of sickness in their fellow passengers was about the sum total of my real-life social interactions for the past month or so. The...
