4 Reasons Why I Love My Journal
I’ve always thought keeping a journal meant writing long passages of insight about your life and its meaning, a diary a la Anais Nin or The Artist’s Way that someday after you die would reveal who you secretly were. I’ve tried to do this in the past but it never stuck. But after reading Show Your Work, I’ve realized that…
Share What You Create From a Favorite Place
If you are a creator, chances are you want folks to see your work. Creative people know what I’m talking about. (Of course, we’re all creative in some way.) Yes, we paint, we write, we knit, we make stuff because it pleases us, because it sends us into a zone where we lose track of time, but we ultimately want…
Saturday Morning, the Most Hopeful Time of the Week
For many of us, Saturday morning is the first morning of the week where we wake up and have nowhere to go. We may go to the gym, but that’s our choice. We may drive a kid to an activity, but that’s our choice. If we tackle the weeds waiting in our yard, that’s also our choice. Saturday morning is…
Don’t Think Twice Is the Writer’s Journey Too
Last Saturday, I saw a movie about comedy that inspired me as a writer. It was Mike Birbiglia’s Don’t Think Twice, a sharply realistic yet sweet portrait of a New York improv group. They’re unknown comedians who make people laugh by night but work by day to stay afloat. And they’re friends, and smart, and loving, and sometimes selfish. They’ve performed in…
Tricking Myself Into Productivity
When I’m pressed for time, I put tasks off until later. So I’ve decided to do what I do when I’m convinced I have no time to garden in my yard. I think, “I can’t weed right now, I’ve got to take make dinner. Besides, the garden is a mess. I need a bigger chunk of time on another day to…
The Inspiring Idea of Being a Linchpin
Seth Godin's Linchpin is a great book that teaches people how to live up to their potential in their career or as an artist.
Moving to Seattle: The Best Decision I Ever Made
Today is my 21st anniversary of moving to Seattle. I came here in late January of 1992. I was just out of graduate school, my job had been eliminated, and I had no romantic partner in my life. I’d visited the Northwest the previous October, staying with my aunt and uncle who’d recently moved here themselves. As I explored the…
