Mar 27, 2018How to keep going10 ways to stay creative in chaotic times Whether you’re burned out, starting out, starting over, or even if you’ve had success beyond your wildest dreams, that question always remains: How to keep…Life Lessons1 min readLife Lessons1 min read
Mar 2, 2018The tools matter, the tools don’t matterThough you might not think it from the comic, I’m actually sympathetic to questions about tools and process, as I myself am a kind of process junky. I love hearing about how other writers work. I’m also not someone who dismisses questions about tools with the line “the tools don’t…Writing6 min readWriting6 min read
Mar 2, 20183 reasons I keep a diary1. It helps me pay attention to my life. By sitting down and writing about my life, I pay attention to it, I honor it, and when I’ve written about it long enough, I have a record of my days, and I can then go back and pay attention to what I pay attention to, discover my own patterns…Writing3 min readWriting3 min read
Dec 21, 2017The importance of revisiting notebooksI’ve kept a notebook for 20 years, but the triumph of my year has been, for the first time, keeping not just a logbook, but a daily diary. (This is what it looks like.) I keep looking at the stack and thinking, “Okay, but where’s the book?” Almost every writer…Writing5 min readWriting5 min read
Oct 28, 2016The Pram in the Hall“I have not been a good father,” admitted John Banville in a recent interview. “I don’t think any writer is.” He went on to talk about how hard his profession had been on his family, and how hard he imagined it had been to live with him as a husband…Writing4 min readWriting4 min read
Aug 12, 2016SeasonsAfter being a nun in Los Angeles for 30 years, Corita Kent moved to Boston to live quietly and make art. Her apartment had a big bay window with a maple tree out front, and she liked to sit there and observe the tree changing throughout the seasons. …Writing2 min readWriting2 min read
Aug 3, 2016How to support an artist you loveOften when browsing a blog or Instagram account of one of my favorite writers or artists, I’ll be struck by how entitled some of the fan comments are. I wanted to write down the guidelines above, not as an artist, but as a fan. A few notes: 1) “Give them money” is pretty self explanatory. The Renaissance had to be funded. 2) Credit is always due. 3) Send words of praise and encouragement, sure, but don’t feel that by supporting them you are automatically owed a response, or a personal relationship with them. Let their work be enough for you.Art1 min readArt1 min read
Published inNewCo Shift·Jul 30, 2016“Find a new city.”There’s a very romantic American story that I love, that lots of artists who are young and starting out love, too, and it goes like this: Move to the Big City with nothing, make friends, make art, struggle, but make it. …Career4 min readCareer4 min read
Jul 22, 2016Finding your bliss stationIt’s felt impossible lately not to be distracted and despondent. I’m trying to spend as much time at my bliss station as I can. What’s a bliss station? Here’s Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth: You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where…Life Lessons3 min readLife Lessons3 min read
Published inLife lessons from the movies·Jul 7, 2016Children are velociraptorsThe Jurassic Park Guide To Parenting — Parenting2 min readParenting2 min read
