Latest Posts

How I Write Books: A Practical Guide

How I Write Books: A Practical Guide

This is an excerpt from my e-book How to Come Up With All Those Words: A Practical Guide to Writing a Successful Nonfiction Book, from Conception to Publication. My mom likes to brag about me to her friends, as moms do. She recently recommended one of my books to a...

Skillshare Class: Turning Your Fandom Into a Writing Career

Skillshare Class: Turning Your Fandom Into a Writing Career

You may have thought to yourself before, “Gosh, I wish I could do something useful with all this knowledge I have about …” your favorite book, TV show, movie, or pop star. You may have even been joking a little. But it turns out you really can do something with it!...

Blog Followers: Sign Up for My Newsletter!

Beloved blog followers: Thank you so much for sticking with me all this time! I'm retiring my blog as it appears regularly on this site, but I will continue to send out weekly newsletters full of good stuff I'm reading and stuff I'm making (journalism, books, and...

Best ‘Mary Tyler Moore Show’ Episodes: ‘The Lars Affair’

"The Lars Affair" marks a transition point for The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The first episode of the fourth season introduces the legendary Betty White as Sue Ann Nivens, the Happy Homemaker (who is also a happy homewrecker and a proto-Martha Stewart boss bitch). The...

Interviewing Class This Summer!

Interviewing Class This Summer!

I'm teaching a class on interviewing all kinds of people for all kinds of media—articles, books, podcasts, you name it—in June in New York City. It'll be June 12, 20, and 26 at the Made in New York Media Center for IFP. Use the discount code InterviewSkills, and...

3 Simple (But Not Easy) Steps to Becoming a Writer

3 Simple (But Not Easy) Steps to Becoming a Writer

I came across a post by Jeff Goins, who blogs about writing and creative life, called "7 Tips for More Effective Writing," and it's great in itself, but I noticed a particularly insightful nugget of wisdom within it: His final three tips are the entire recipe for a...

Best ‘Seinfeld’ Episodes: ‘The Contest’

"The Contest" is Peak Seinfeld. It's flawless. It's the rare time when all four characters share one overarching storyline (though each is on his or her own unique journey through it, as ever). This has everything a classic Seinfeld has: Through their contest to see...