Writing
What Lies Underneath Worry
It hasn’t happened recently, but occasionally, I will publish a piece that evokes an: Are you ok? Should I be worried? First of all, yes, you should be worried about me as I am worried about you and the state of the world all day every day. It’s part of having been born Jewish. My (…)
Meaningful Texts: Uses of The Erotic by Audre Lorde
It is possible that all the answers to life’s questions are in one book: The Selected Works of Audre Lorde . If you’re unfamiliar with Lorde’s work, strap in because no one is more deliberate with words, discerning with ideas, and more cutthroat when it comes to truth-telling than Lorde. To read her is to see (…)
Psychological Honesty: The Road To Self-Actualization
“But what do you WANT to write about?” I asked him again. He couldn’t answer. He said he wanted to write a book. But he was lying. Every answer was a well-thought-out formula. An idea that could be. A template. An approach. He was a strong writer in that he was great with words. He (…)
Why Open AI ChatGPT Will Not Ruin Writing, But We Will
This is my least favorite topic at the moment because, well, outrage is profoundly boring to me. But enough people have asked me to comment on ChatGPT so here we are. Am I worried about it. What are my thoughts. What will happen to writing and writers and original thought! I’ll start with the punchline: (…)
Clear is Kind: Why You Should Endure The Discomfort of Being Direct
There is no such thing as a friendly reminder. “Friendly reminders” are passive-aggressive roundabout ways of avoiding direct communication and clarifying your position. There are fascinating reasons why we do this, which Dr. Harriett Lerner, Patron Saint Of All Things Anger, talks about in detail here. The gist is that many of us avoid conflict (…)
Write As You Speak
When I first started Writing Professionally (that is to say: being published for free), I worked for a local magazine called INSite Atlanta where I took whatever job they gave me. I wrote the “Hot or Not” column for a while and then graduated to celebrity interviews which was cool because I got to attend (…)
Sick Burn, Thoreau
The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. That’s the quote from Walden. The one everyone and their mom cites as their motivation for quitting their job or leaving their spouse or starting a side hustle and becoming a nomad! Take life by the horns! LIVE! Do not become one of them. Living the unexamined life, (…)
Why People Who Go To Therapy Become Better Copywriters
During the previous run of The Copy Workshop, I thought a live fireside chat with a professional copywriter would help invigorate the classroom, so I invited my friend, Carolynn, to speak to students. And while traditional speakers give tips, tricks, frameworks, and takeaways – Carolynn gave us the opening scene of The Godfather. [To find out (…)