1 If you’ve ever been in an intimate relationship with a classic narcissist, you learn this the hard way: Narcissists suck. Their charming façade turns out to be just that: a façade, shaped and molded to get what they want from you. They are punitive, controlling and emotionally abusive. They don’t allow you to have…
1 There are many good reasons to blog, but to be a truly effective badass blogger you need a purpose that transcends your own self-interest. 2 Writers (and other creatives) will decide to blog because editors and agents and people like me tell them they need a platform. But if you throw up a blog…
1 I had dinner last night with a very bright young guy who scored a six-figure advance from a major publishing house for his nonfiction work-in-progress. We talked about blogging. He asked me how much time I spent on my own blogging. (A lot.) He asked me if it takes me away from my book…
In her talk about how digital media empowers writers, thought leader Jane Friedman namechecks this site – and me. Which is awesome, and so thank you very much Jane! (That, however, is beside the point. I just wanted to brag.) She also stresses the importance of a long-range view when it comes to the use…
Having lots of stuff doesn’t make you happy. Which is why there seems to be this growing movement afoot to get rid of as much stuff as possible. It’s like they say (although I’m kind of paraphrasing here): declutter your mind – and your ass will follow. I think this taps into an ongoing sea-change…
A good scene requires a turning point. A turning point happens on two different levels, and like a figure skater planning two quad jumps in his Olympic performance, it’s important to nail each one. (Okay, that figure skater reference probably a bit gratuitous. I just wanted an excuse to use that photo of Kurt Browning….
My first-ever guest post is up at Lateral Action. It’s about finding “your element”, that sweet spot, that wild streak of creative you that puts you in the zone. Writing that post — and reading about multiple intelligences — made me realize something. When I write, I tend to get up and move around a…
Ten months ago I wrote a post called why you need to write like a bad girl. I was groping towards a connection between ‘badness’, writing, and authenticity. Except I didn’t realize this until I read a book (for a nonfiction project I’m working on) called THE CURSE OF THE GOOD GIRL by Rachel Simmons….
