Fear of a Damaging Posthumous Discovery: Finders Keepers, I’m a Creeper

I fear snakes and sharks. You know this, we’ve talked about it. But I also fear an embarrassing posthumous discovery. You heard me correctly. I’ve thought about this more than once. More than I care to admit. But the other day, when I went scrambling around my house trying to find an old college transcript,…

I Write About Relationships Because I’m Building My Author Brand and Platform

Mainly I write about relationships because they tell you when you write nonfiction that you have to have a platform and that platform is being an expert in something. Of course, when they say this about nonfiction they aren’t talking about memoirists, not really. At least not in my opinion. They are talking about people…

DIY writing space

Writing Space: A Wall of My Own (Which Obviously Makes Me a Real Writer)

I kind of always felt like real writers had their own writing space. I attributed some kind of authority over their writing life to the writing space they created in. Ordinary people call these home offices, but that sounds stiff and boring. Like the place you sit down to pay your bills. Fuck that. I…

'F' Word sign language

I Use the ‘F’ Word. Big Fucking Deal. It Doesn’t Make Me a Bad Person or Mom.

I’ve gotten heat that my use of the ‘F’ word will reflect poorly on me as a parent. One argument was that anyone wanting to find fault with my parenting and therefore get in the way of my relationship with my son, might use my social media presence (which often includes my favorite expletive) against…

Rules of the ‘F’ Word: Guidelines for Acceptable Use in Everyday Life

Despite popular belief, I do have control over my use of the ‘F’ word. Most people wouldn’t know it because they have this assumption that I always shoot from the hip and don’t censor myself. Like I just talk and don’t think about what I’m saying. While sometimes this is true – especially in person…

Just write

Just Write Some Words, You’ll Feel Better: Writing as a Practice

“Just write some words, you’ll feel better,” said no normal person ever. A writer, however, says this. Specifically, I’m saying this to myself right now. I’m alone tonight. My son is with his dad. It’s just me and the cat. I have no reason to not write. At least no good reason. So even though I’m…

Facing fear means digging in.

Facing Fear: “Art that is Safe Doesn’t Really Matter” to You or Anyone Else

On the occasion that I have twentyish minutes in the car on my own and that I want to make those twentyish minutes productive – and by productive, I mean, not let my mind wander all over the spaghetti-noodle-looking map of my mind. Sometimes I tune into a podcast called Helping Writers Become Authors with K.M.…