Did You Hear the One About the Storyteller Outside a Bodega With Nothing Left to Lose?
I was in Brooklyn, New York the other day and walked my kid’s dog to the bodega to get a sandwich. If you’re not familiar, a bodega is a corner convenience store/delicatessen crammed into the smallest space imaginable. They offer one of everything in a hallway-sized store and stay open all night. They’re one of … Read more
How do you Make the Best of the Baggage you Carry Through Life?
I’m writing you from Brooklyn, New York, where I’m visiting my kid. Things are strange here compared to the suburbs of Lansing, but the basics still work fine. Smile at someone’s dog as they walk by and you get a smile back, either from the dog or the walker. Say hello and they’ll smile and … Read more
Take a Peek Behind the Curtain of My Writing Process, or, Why You Shouldn’t Hurry So Much
A new book is making the rounds of popularity in the circles where I hang out (Twitter and Substack) as writer after writer proclaims the book’s awesomeness. It’s Slow Productivity by Cal Newport, and I’m never going to read it. It’s not that I think the book is a bunch of hooey. On the contrary, … Read more
Do You Deal With Your Daily Dose of Chaos?
I try to plan my months, weeks, and days. Every morning, I pick out stuff to get done, and mostly I make progress, chipping away at my novels, humor, and essays. Then a tick walks across my face at three o’clock in the morning and my world quickly shifts. The tick woke me up about … Read more