As a person who has worked an eclectic array of jobs over the years to supplement my bohemian appetites, I am well versed in do-it-yourselfism. This year, when we were finally seeing our finances consistently in the green, we decided to try outsourcing some things to have more time for the things we enjoy.
Read MoreIf you’ve watched any of my social media content in the past few years, you’ve likely seen a couple videos from my treadmill desk. Depending on how long we’ve been connected, you may or may not know that I was a full time personal trainer and fitness instructor for a decade before the pandemic. I still get lots of health and fitness questions and several about my treadmill desk, so I thought I’d extoll the virtues and answer most frequent questions here.
Read MoreIf you’re going to learn and grow, you’ll have to do some things before you feel ready.
Read MoreI’d heard of creative burnout before and was pretty sure I would recognize it when it happened. I was also pretty sure that I’d want to “push through” anyway. I was wrong.
Read MoreWhen I was in martial arts, it was on the onus of the more experienced student to take care of the less experienced one. Just because you can beat someone to a pulp, that doesn’t mean that you should. Why should it be any different in writing?
Read MoreIt’s a common misconception that introverts are shrinking violets who cannot bear a conversation with strangers and extroverts are loud mouths who must be the center of attention. Obviously this isn’t the case or no one would be able to handle being around anyone. We all know we’re on a spectrum, but it has less to do with how you interact with people and more to do with how you recharge afterward.
Read MoreOn Tuesday morning at 4:13am, I was near wakefulness, but not yet awake. (I get up at 5am, so sometimes I’m restless the hour before the alarm goes off.) I heard squealing tires and a loud bang. I opened my eyes in time with another bang, and the sight of headlights in our yard. I tossed back the covers, leapt out of bed, and said, “There’s a car in the yard! Call the police!”
Read MoreDepending on how long you’ve been interacting with me, you may or may not know that in addition to getting my debut novel published this year, I also work in the production side of publishing during the day. So here are a few things I’ve picked up as a result of starting my career on the other side of the table.
Read MoreWe all go through those stretches of time where life seems to have decided to toss challenges at us faster than we can gracefully deal with them. The temptation to just lay down in the middle of the dodgeball court and take the hits until they stop coming is real, but that wouldn’t be productive.
Read MoreWhen should you force yourself to write when you’re not feeling like it and when are you doing more harm than good?
Read MoreAs a society, I think we’re getting better at openly discussing these things unapologetically, but I think it’s still important, maybe even more important, to shine a light on these personal experiences as we move through them. I’m in my mid-forties, which is almost like a second puberty. Just when I had my body figured out, it’s changing on me again.
Read MoreThis is the absolute last thing I wanted to write about this week. But honestly, everything else seems trivial, so here we go, I’ll try to keep it short.
Read MoreNothing’s ever as terrible when you go through it with friends. (Even Malӧrt.)
Read MoreThis one is going to be shorter because it’s my birthday, the weather is decent so I’d like to get outside, and my best friend from New Orleans is flying in this afternoon. We’ve known each other for thirty-five years and haven’t seen each other since the Before Times. So, here are a few bullet points from the other side of forty-five.
Read MoreIf you’ve interacted with me in any way, shape, or form more than once, you’ll know that I have cats. Here are five things I’ve learned about writing from my cats, largely through no fault of their own.
Read MoreAs a former competitive fighter, (and stage combatant) I’ll admit to being more judgmental than the average person when it comes to reading fight scenes. However, any reader can be ‘taken out’ of the narrative by a clunky fight scene. And there are a few things you can do to satisfy even picky former fighters who like to read fighty-fantasy.
Read MoreMy body is apparently making up for years of not being sick by trying to catch everything possible in the first quarter of this year. This week it was stomach flu, and I’ve only just been able to sit at a computer long enough to write. While the topic is fresh on my mind, here are my tips on surviving it!
Read MoreThere are a couple of statistical phrases that I think about often. You know the ones: You read an article or a study somewhere, a while ago, and don’t remember anything about it other than this one takeaway. You don’t even remember the exact percentages or where the numbers came from, but this one thing sticks with you.
The five people you spend the most time with are solid indicators of your socio-economic status, interests, etc..
If you want to know what’s truly important to you, look at what you spend your money on.
Read MoreIt never occurred to me not to do things because I had scoliosis. No one ever told me that there was anything I might be unable to participate in. I’m still not quite convinced that I’ve done anything impressive, other than absorb the realization of “Anything can and WILL happen to you,” as a twelve-year-old, but just in case, I thought I’d throw this out there.
Read MoreI was recently asked who motivates me when I am having a tough time putting one foot in front of the other, or have an overwhelming about of choices on my to do list. The short answer, is that I think it’s largely still me. But I’ll elaborate.
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