That grid that has “urgent” along one axis and “important” along the other axis (the Eisenhower Principle) is driven by fear. It takes an overwhelming mass of all the things and turns them into “yes, but these two things are the only ones you actually need to panic about today.” The problem is, what do you do […]
The Eisenhower Principle: a simple system for an anxiety attack Read More »
Most of us don’t have conscious end-goals for our lives. We don’t have principles that we can state. We don’t know ourselves all that well. Sometimes we think we have these things and we don’t: the things we deeply, truly believe in are often beyond our grasp. So maybe starting off with long-term planning as
Strategies, Tactics, Long-Term Planning Read More »
Marketing: how much effort does this technique take; how durable is the effect of the technique; what is the impact of the technique? Three axes for a graph: effort, durability, impact. A book review is high effort, high durability, high impact. A single tweet is low effort, low durability, low impact. A well-coordinated social media
I’m used to defining the story of a life. Not with each character I create, but with each book. There’s one main character; the entire book becomes a kind of exoskeleton for the character within. The other characters are reactions, motifs, variations, opinions–all of them filtered and refiltered through the main character’s perspective. If I
Defining the Story of a Life Read More »
This morning was a pretty serious anxiety attack (for me; I didn’t have to go to the hospital or anything). I got to the point where I could journal, then started working away at the knot of it, pulling out one thread at a time. Now, I’m still anxious–but I’m not locked up and frozen.
A System to Beat Anxiety Read More »
I’ve been working with some people (Shannon Lawrence, Veronica Calisto, Pete Aldin, and Melissa Locy) to put together a panel on plot twists for Denver ComicCon, at the end of June. My line in the sand: if it’s gonna be an epic, major, unforgettable plot twist…you have to give the reader a key to it
Having a busy, hyperactive mind often shows up in my journaling as a hint that there’s something big on my mind behind all the rest of the stuff. When I can’t finish a sentence–when I not only can’t finish a sentence but have to start midway through the next sentence–when I’m writing so quickly that
Mental blocks that try to look like busyness… Read More »
Note: I’m a GenX-er. So I got the following spam the other day: I WILL REPORT YOU. YOU PIECE OF SHIT… Hey, Stop stalking me and my friend or I will report you. You piece of shit, cock-sucker douche. I do not know why you are doing this! You slept together once, only once. It
How to Catch A Millenial…? Read More »
I have a new interview up at Blackbird Publishing, in support of the Haunted story bundle. I interview Rebecca Senese, author of “The Haunting of Melsbury Manor,” a twisty tale of family and ghosts that I really liked. You can find links to the bundle here.
Interview with Rebecca Senese at Blackbird Publishing… Read More »
So I tried to do some DIY plumbing the other day. It didn’t work out the way I hoped: easy, simple, straightforward. Just like in the YouTube videos. Instead I found myself having a breakdown. Tears, self-recriminations, the whole bit. I was a terrible person who never should have tried. (I’m 43.) And the only
