"Huge fan of Bukowski from way back. When I went on my first hiatus from writing, I read him extensively, after discovering his work via John Fante (backwards way in, I guess). The second hiatus I took was to act for 8 years. I think some family members and close friends were surprised (and disappointed), but it did the trick: when I finally came back to it, not only did I have a wealth of experiences to draw from, I “got” more about writing since I now understood character motivation from a deeper level. The one item I’d add to your list of prescriptives for people struggling now is to *limit* your time writing. Set aside one hour or two or whatever, no matter how much time you actually have, and only allow yourself to write then. Merlin Mann brought this up in a recent talk at Jesse Thorn’s Maximum Fun camp (or whatever they called it). In the same way that scarcity can create urgency in the marketing/sales cycle, it can do it for creative output."
- colleen wainwright
@ConversationAge You know what's sad? I'd rather have the notes. I AM A LOSER.
"Rattus – And you’re right on to do it, baby! And I’m delighted to be “the communicatrix” to you. I’m not really running away from “communicatrix” as much as I’m finally embracing my name. It’s an inclusive, not an excluding action. Cousin Mikey! I was wondering about that “Heff LaQuisha” thing. It’s so cute that 30 is old to you. Hahaha. I remember when *I* thought 30 was old. All I can say is I’m surprised two parents as smart as yours didn’t think through the initials thing. Oh, well. Hormones have scrambled weirder things. Dave2 – Ain’t it the bset?"
- colleen wainwright
"Oh, Valeria--that's the most beautiful introduction I think I've ever received! Three cheers for you and what you do for all of us. You're a marvel of discernment and a hoot, to boot. I'm so thrilled with the Internet for throwing us together."
- colleen wainwright
Scott Beale (aka Laughing Squid) is the poster child for right use of Posterous. Eclectic mix of the best, plenty of visuals, nice balance between useful and fun.
- colleen wainwright
"I must thank you not only for the compliment, but for forcing me to finally look up “peregrinations.” WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG!?!? (Thanks. Truly.)"
- colleen wainwright
I guess you can style the hell out of these for your WP site, but what I'm really loving is how sweet they look in the emails that get sent to you.
- colleen wainwright
Marketers spend billions of dollars identifying common biochemical events, and then they launch products and services with stories that align with those events. As a result, we spend money on external forces in an attempt to heal internal pain. Marketers want the equation to be, "if you buy this, everything will be all right." I wish it were so easy.
- colleen wainwright
Tina Brown draws a parallel between the public meltdowns of the late Princess Diana and the retired governor of Alaska. As usual, some excellent drama (and raging vitriol...yikes!) in the comments section.
- colleen wainwright
"Elaine – Thank you. I admit, I still feel funny about the whole thing, but I love doing it, and I’m deLIGHTed that other people do, too. Greg – Thanks, I appreciate that. Trust me, when you’re as fearful of just putting it out there (poetry? EEEEEEE!!!!!!), it’s nice to have validation on more than one front."
- colleen wainwright