Written February 22, 2020 at the Gateless Writing Retreat “You seem to have a long list of interesting fears,” she says as I decline her offer of pouring coffee into the cup while I hold it. We’re at a weekend writing retreat, all staying in one house and squeezing on two sofas. This isn’t her […]
KEEP READINGcreativity
How To Get Out Of A Rut: 13 Ways To Stop Feeling Like A Useless Blob And Get Back To Your Creative, Motivated Self (If That Was Ever You)
It comes on suddenly. For months, I’m obnoxiously giddy about my life and what I get to do for a living. I’m on a roll. No, not just on a roll: I’m on fire! #Unstoppable. Until, one day, I wake up feeling…doomed. Life is relentless. I have to do this till I die? I hate […]
KEEP READINGHow to tap your talent
At my first job that didn’t involve cutting lemon wedges and pouring draught Beer for drunk, off-duty doormen, my father came to meet me one day for lunch.
KEEP READINGDO be all "look at me!" (How to be a leader and a star)
There’s this woman Georgia in my dance class — by that, I mean my instructor Cebo’s dance class, which I take, not teach — who’s amazing.
KEEP READINGMake your name by doing the unsexy work. (AKA Puff Is Pissed, AKA Grownups Eating Ice Cream And Crying)
At the company off-site, they had tubs of ice cream waiting for us first thing in the morning. Breakfast of cry-babies.
KEEP READINGMy new favorite writing prompt is even more fun if you’re old as dirt
OMG best thing ever A fellow copywriter/word nerd posted this Merriam Webster tool in a Facebook group, and all I can say is, what a perfect birthday gift. It lets you see what words were made official the year you were born. I thought that would make me feel old, but many of the words […]
KEEP READING“Mansplaining” should never have been a word. (On the dopiest portmanteau ever, and how to make your own)
Chocoholic. Faux-hawk. Netiquette. Tanorexic. Jazzercise, glitterati, Brangelina. I love a good portmanteau. You know, that kind of word that’s a combo of two words and usually a twist on a longer one. Cassingle. Showmance. Mathlete. Sometimes it’s called a frankenword. It used to be called a “Sniglet” – coined in the 1980s by comedian Rich […]
KEEP READINGAfraid to repeat yourself? Take a tip from every dumb ’80s sitcom.
“Did I ever tell you about my crush at Camp Well-Met? Her name was Laura Mills…” “We know.” “Have I ever told you about Grandpa refusing to take illegal kickbacks in his lumber business during World War Two?” “We know.” “Have I ever told you about my time-efficiency study for Eastern Airlines? It saved the […]
KEEP READINGHow to promote yourself on social media without annoying the shit out of your friends
“You have to put yourself out there!” “If you don’t promote yourself, you’re stealing from those who need you!” “Marketing and selling are an act of service.” You’ve probably heard these things. They’re all true. You might’ve also heard: “If your friends are annoyed by your success, they don’t deserve to be in your life.” […]
KEEP READINGYou have official permission not to do that f#cking 7-day challenge.
In third grade, I loaned a quarter to Serena, the richest girl in my class. She wanted it for a packet of Munchos from the vending machine. When I say rich, I mean, rich. Serena’s family had, and has, their last name on the most famous buildings in the world. Buildings with observation decks, where people get engaged or try crazy climbing stunts or realize their […]
KEEP READINGYes, it’s raining, humans are weird, and you can make a living telling us what we already know.
The other day, I was on my walk (fyi – when I say “a walk” it means just a putter around the neighborhood where I might stop into a clothing store and try on a top; when I say ”my walk” it means a long one that counts as my workout for the day. A walk that must happen. Podcasts […]
KEEP READINGThe three most boring words that come out of your mouth
Know what I need to do? Apparently, everything. Every time I open up 750words.com, which I use as my journal, I see that I accidentally skipped a few days. I broke my streak. And I invariably start with, “I need to write more.” And then, as I continue typing, the “I need to”s multiply like Gremlins when they get […]
KEEP READINGI deserve to be lazy. But so what.
I’ve been very deserve-y since I got back from Europe. (Sorry for that sentence. “Since I got back from Europe” is a heinous thing to say. Makes me think of my first day at my private all-girls school in 9th grade. During lunch, one of the fanciest girls in the class — her last name was one […]
KEEP READINGHow to know if your idea is a winner or a dud
I keep a stash of images to post on Instagram. Sometimes, I get low on supply and say, f- it. I’ll use this dumb picture I keep passing over because it’s meh. To me, it’s the peanuts and filberts at the bottom of the nut mix when all the cashews are gone. It’s the unflattering, […]
KEEP READING