Blog
WRITING
Statistically significant ways to lose a reader
Oh, there it is again. Right on top of my slush pile. Which tells me it's time to bring this back... I was at a writers' conference one weekend when a bright-eyed woman approached me during cocktail hour. "I've just finished my PhD in organizational psychology," she...
A sailor, a pilot, and a president walk into the unknown
I've been reading about people who should be dead. Not in a morbid way. (Okay, maybe a little.) It started with one book about a shipwreck, and then, the way these things go, I couldn't stop. Three books later, I'm convinced they're all secretly about writing. Bear...
Rejected by Wired? Congratulations, that’s step one.
Back in the day, Walt and I would drive to the local Citgo on Sunday mornings to buy the New York Times. The paper was as thick as my arm, stuffed with the Magazine, the Book Review, and a fistful of inserts. From there we'd head to LaSalle's, a family-run restaraunt...
I got catfished by a pair of legs
I like to think I'm smart. That I'm an educated consumer who knows a magic pill when she sees one. I'm not. I'm as gullible as the next person, and it kills me to admit this to you. I've been watching my weight since I was 11. I could blame my mother, who enrolled me...
READING
A sailor, a pilot, and a president walk into the unknown
I've been reading about people who should be dead. Not in a morbid way. (Okay, maybe a little.) It started with one book about a shipwreck, and then, the way these things go, I couldn't stop. Three books later, I'm convinced they're all secretly about writing. Bear...
Six weeks from now, you’re going to quit. Here’s how you’ll justify it.
Any time you switch up your routine or form new habits–which is pretty much what needs to happen before starting a book project–you’ve got to overcome all sorts of obstacles that spring up in your path. It’s all well and good when you’re pumped up and motivated, when...
My daughter’s fancy school gave me one thing worth keeping
Long ago, the private high school my daughter attended had a wonderful yearly tradition. At the beginning of summer, they'd mail a reading list--a compilation of each teacher's favorite books--to the house. Now, I'm sure the design was to encourage students to read...
My mother has no idea what’s wrong with her (and she’s fine with that)
On Saturday I called my mother to check on her. She's getting up there in age, and she'd been flat on her back for a couple of weeks. Zero appetite. Which, if you know my mother, is the part that should worry you. The woman has never met a casserole she couldn't...
LIFE
I got catfished by a pair of legs
I like to think I'm smart. That I'm an educated consumer who knows a magic pill when she sees one. I'm not. I'm as gullible as the next person, and it kills me to admit this to you. I've been watching my weight since I was 11. I could blame my mother, who enrolled me...
I’m taking confidence lessons from a convicted con artist
I write about the Imposter Syndrome all the time because it's the single biggest issue many of my clients have. It's what keeps them from starting their book, finishing it, then publishing it when it's time to let it go. In fact, I've written about this issue HERE and...
Six weeks from now, you’re going to quit. Here’s how you’ll justify it.
Any time you switch up your routine or form new habits–which is pretty much what needs to happen before starting a book project–you’ve got to overcome all sorts of obstacles that spring up in your path. It’s all well and good when you’re pumped up and motivated, when...
The Gortex thing is a lie
Walt has been telling the story of how we met for twenty-one years, and he has never once gotten it right. His version: he was on Match.com, scrolling, and he came across a woman whose profile claimed she enjoyed a little black dress as much as she enjoyed Gortex....
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