THE PENNY PUB
Be Aware and Notice Everything
Great advice for writers
One of the best things I ever did for myself and my career was to take essay-writing classes from Taffy Brodesser-Akner. Only some have had that opportunity, and it was life-changing.
If it sounds like I’m bragging — I am.
If you don’t know who Taffy Brodesser-Akner is, she’s a staff writer for The New York Times, a noted essayist, best-selling novelist, and the showrunner for the television adaptation of her novel Fleishman Is in Trouble.
She has a new novel coming out in July called Long Island Compromise, but when I had her as a teacher, it was long before her major literary triumphs.
Taffy and her family lived in Los Angeles when she started teaching at the Writing Pad, a local writing school. I knew of her from her fantastic essays in Salon.
I desperately wanted to get a piece published in Salon and figured Taffy would be the perfect person to help me. And she was.
Taffy is a warm, funny, and brilliant person. To say she’s likable is an understatement. She’s also extremely knowledgeable about many things, especially writing, pitching, and publishing.
