Like many people, I like to look at the start of a new year as a chance to better myself. I make grandiose plans to get healthy (I will never eat sugar again!) and exercise (I will run 42 miles every day!) But after about ten minutes, reality sets in and I have to face … Continue reading That’s What She Said- Why I Suck at New Year’s Resolutions and Smoothie Cleanses

    As I established in my last column, How to Drink Like a Writer, I do some work as a bartender to help pay my bills while I’m waiting for the publishing world to realize that I am the Next Great American Writer who will make them piles of money. Truth be told, I … Continue reading That’s What She Said- 6 Lessons in Bar Etiquette

It’s no surprise that a relational stereotype between writers and alcohol exists. One often imagines a writer sitting in a smoky room with a cigarette between their lips and a drink by their side. Alcohol was believed by many writers to unlock their creativity and F. Scott Fitzgerald believed he wrote better while he drank. … Continue reading That’s What She Said- How to Drink Like a Writer

On the days that I crawl out of the cave of beer and corn chips that I call my “office,” I will on occasion meet new people who, in the course of polite conversation, will ask about what I do for work. I’ll usually describe my job that pays my rent and utilities and then, almost as an afterthought, I’ll mention that I write. Although I know it’s weird, I have a hard time describing myself as a writer. This is probably due to the large number of people I know who call themselves writers, but seem to be far more interested in the lifestyle of a writer, or at least what they perceive to be the lifestyle of a writer. This usually amounts to imagining themselves to be the lovechildren of Hunter S. Thompson and Ernest Hemingway while drinking and smoking, but doing very little writing other than making sure you watch them write three or four words in their barely used Moleskin notebooks.

Most writers, either intentionally or subconsciously, draw inspiration for their writing from the world around them. Their life experiences, education, travels, and especially the people they meet are all fair game in fiction. On some level I think this can create a slight paranoia amongst a writer’s family and friends. However, I’ve found that the … Continue reading That’s What She Said – Eavesdropping on Strangers for Fun and Profit