What Kind of Writer Are You?
January 18, 2013 By
My writing partner once told me I was the most business-y writer she knew. To be honest, it hadn’t occurred to me that there was any other way to be. That was why, when I sent out an LOI last month in response to a call for book reviewers and learned that the position was [...]
Why Your Goals Aren’t Good Enough
December 31, 2012 By
Earlier this month, I met up with Susan Johnston of the Urban Muse at the Holiday Shops at Bryant Park. We don’t get to see each other often — she lives in Boston, I live in NJ, and the last time we saw each other was at the ASJA conference back in April — but [...]
I’m Not Really Much of an Entrepreneur, Am I?
December 10, 2012 By
About two years ago, Ryan Paugh approached me about becoming one of the founding members of the Young Entrepreneur Council. At the time, I had just left behind a permalance gig to focus on building my career coaching practice. Still, I was also juggling a number of writing and copyediting assignments, and singing at funerals [...]
Taking Stock of the Books That Brought Me Here
December 3, 2012 By
My husband and I recently moved out of the one-bedroom condo we’d been trying to sell for the past two and a half years and into a four-bedroom house 10 minutes away. On moving day, I was giddy at the sight of the boxes upon boxes (upon boxes) of books that made their way to [...]
10 Word Nerdy Tips for Frankenstorm Apocalypse Preparedness
October 29, 2012 By
I lay awake in bed at 5:30 this morning as the windows shuddered and the wind howled. The cats prowled restlessly and the old radiators whistled and creaked. Back issues of Creative Nonfiction, the latest issues of Esquire and Vanity Fair, my new copy of The New New Journalism were in a loose pile next to the bed. My Kindle was plugged in [...]
Where Are All the NJ Word Nerds Hanging Out?
September 28, 2012 By
Maybe 15 years ago, back when the Montclair Book Center was still the Page One Café, I barely stepped into my local Barnes & Noble. Why would I? Instead, I spent hours browsing the books — old and new — on the left side of Page One. On the right side, there was a café. [...]
How to Find the Right Balance Between Connected Writer and Crazy Recluse
September 18, 2012 By
I crossed and recrossed my legs uncomfortably, picked cat hair off my skirt, and leaned away from the passenger sitting beside me as the 195 bus made its way in fits and starts into the city. Only several hours before, I’d been having a Skype video chat with fellow writer and YEC member Dave Ursillo [...]
Which Books Have Inspired Your Writing?
September 11, 2012 By
When I was a 5-year-old aspiring poet, I devoured books of poetry by Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allen Poe, memorizing lines that spoke to the part of me that knew I’d one day work with words. Later on, as a teenager, I read Bill Ervolino‘s humor column religiously, soaking in his words over breakfast while seated [...]
Choosing to Change Course Doesn’t Mean I Failed… Right?
September 6, 2012 By
<— This brilliant illustration perfectly conveys exactly how I’ve been feeling these past couple of months. I posted about my depression / career-related identity crisis just last week, and am still struggling to scramble my way out of that hole. Yesterday, I took my laptop to my favorite local cafe and tried to co-work with [...]
Why I Don’t Want to Have It All
August 29, 2012 By
Class started off slow. Instead of sitting cross-legged on our mats, hands resting palms-up on our knees, we rolled up blankets and placed them — lengthwise — beneath our backs. We stretched out, our heads propped up on blocks, our arms flung out to our sides, our eyes closed. We concentrated on the rise and [...]