Writing Gorgeous Words

Hello readers! If you’re reading this — and I hope you are — then I want you to know I’m moving to Substack (for financial reasons). Make sure you follow me there — read and subscribe so you never miss a post 🙂

For the record, this story is not about me. It’s about someone I know. I mean it. When you, or someone you know, for instance, frequents a seaside bar in the off-season, there are bound to be locals. These are the customers with assigned seats, who the bartenders know by name and crack open their favorite amber-colored bottle before they can even reach that assigned seat. My friend is on her…

One of the greatest lines in cinematic history, in my humble opinion, is right after the major plot twist in The Usual Suspects, (*SPOILER ALERT* don’t click the link if you’ve never seen the film!) specifically when Kevin Spacey’s character says, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” The line is attributed to the French poet Charles Baudelaire, and…

One of the greatest lines in cinematic history, in my humble opinion, is right after the major plot twist in The Usual Suspects, (*SPOILER ALERT* don’t click the link if you’ve never seen the film!) specifically when Kevin Spacey’s character says, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” The line is attributed to the French poet Charles Baudelaire, and…

I think there's a fine line between self-care and self-indulgence, and the latter almost always leads to self-destruction. I think I need to get better at self-discipline.

Elizabeth Gilbert has a book about creativity called Big Magic. PopSugar calls it, “A must read for anyone hoping to live a creative life….” So naturally, I read it. I think the book is definitely a solid read for anyone currently living or trying to curate a creative life. I was going back through my annotations to see if there was anything from the book that I could use for my Creative Writing…

I've been having a really rough time getting out of bed in the morning. There's a lot of uncertainty concerning a very good friend, and the not-knowing anything is eating me alive. I walk around all day with a lump in my throat. I can't sleep. I have trouble eating. Maybe I should be writing about it.

I’ve been having a really rough time getting out of bed in the morning. There’s a lot of uncertainty concerning a very good friend, and the not-knowing anything is eating me alive. I walk around all day with a lump in my throat. I can’t sleep. I have trouble eating. Maybe I should be writing about it. There’s an article on the website for Writer’s Digest titled “7 Ways Writing Heals Us—Even…

My oldest sister, who is incredibly wise and unbelievably strong, recently told me I have terrible taste in men. I don't think I can say she's wrong...

Any other writers trying to get their shit together in 2025?

Isn't it better to have new work available and work my ass off to get as many readers as possible than to just wait for rejection? I think so, but it does feel like abandoning my goal and settling for less than what I want.

Everyone really does have a story to tell. And I think if someone's willing to share it, it's imperative they do so.

Did your resolutions survive Quitter's Day? Did you make any for 2025? Comment and join the conversation :)

I’m sure we’ve all seen the commercial for the Apple Watch that talks about Quitter’s Day, the second Friday in January. The commercial encourages viewers to look up the day and, sure enough, it’s real: “Did you know that today is officially referred to as quitters day? It’s the second Friday of January and research shows that today is the day where millions of people drop their new year’s…

At the end of this year, I feel like I've reached the end of a race. I feel like I'm doubled over, gasping for breath with my hands on my knees. I'm looking back over my shoulder at how far I've come, and though I'm tired and sore, I'm proud and happy.

It’s the last month of the year, and that can cause people to become reflective and more introspective. I am no exception. Almost ten years ago, I bought my first home. It was an adorable, old home with tons of character. It took years for me to close: there were so many obstacles and hiccups. It was a labor of love, truly. And it was more house than I needed. There was lots of space to fill —…

Shyamalan left me rolling my eyes. It was like he was cheating to win, inventing scenarios that were essentially implausible so the audience would be "surprised." I would argue that's when a writer falls for his own trap.

I want to start this post with a disclaimer: I LOVE M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN. I’ve been a fan since the beginning: The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village. I’ll argue that Unbreakable, Split, and Glass comprise one of the best trilogies of all time. I even have love for the universally panned Lady in the Water; I think it’s a masterclass in metafiction. And The Happening? There are sequences from that film…

It's been nearly a month since the last time I updated this blog, and that's disappointing. It's an accurate indication that my writing life has become stagnant, so I'm making a renewed vow to prioritize my writing life, just in time for NaNoWriMo.

But for real this time. It’s been nearly a month since the last time I updated this blog, and that’s disappointing. It’s an accurate indication that my writing life has become stagnant. I’ve made little to no headway on my work in progress, I haven’t submitted to any literary agents or small presses lately, and I haven’t even managed to update my journal daily. All that frustrates me, so I’m…