Here’s one way to get out — I read a book to my kids called The Hug Who Got Stuck. It’s about how we all have a hug factory inside our hearts that tirelessly creates then pumps hugs out into the world. But sometimes a hug gets caught up in a lonely thought or bad feeling, and…

Time to pick up the pieces. Again. — DEFRAGMENTING my subconscious. This was the not super lofty, totally manageable, writing-adjacent goal I set at the outset of 2020. …

Great advice, but, like, how? — Have you met your inner critic? The first time I caught a glimpse of what was causing so much drama in my writing life was during this Softening Your Inner critic guided meditation on Insight Timer. …

Do it today. Then do it again tomorrow. — Every weekday morning at approximately 5:07 I light a candle. Sometimes it’s a hand-poured, essential oil-infused, organic soy wax candle from a pop-up farmers’ market. …

Maybe not. But that doesn’t mean we’re shallow. — Ihad just finished wiping my four year old daughter’s bum when I noticed a slip of paper on the floor next to the toilet. A library receipt for Cal Newport’s book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, which I’d returned several months before. …

How the pandemic is sending us all back to where we started — “This is exactly what we’ve been training for,” said my friend, Jill, an artist and fellow stay-at-home mom, when talk of quarantine began to circulate. Our friendship began with the help of the Internet, as modern friendships do, after having our first babies three days apart. …

A mindset shift to prevent burnout. — Everything is closed. Life is cancelled. In addition to your regularly scheduled responsibilities, you must now homeschool your feral children. Oh, and don’t forget, people are dying and scientists are disagreeing and politicians are being extra politician-y and businesses are suffering and your spouse is, like, always. right. there. …

When having your butt in the chair isn’t working, try moving it instead. — Author Steven Pressfield is one of my favorite no-nonsense resources for writing encouragement and support. Steve’s like a merciless middle school gym teacher fluent in the language of woo. …

Writers don’t get free bananas. — “Writing a novel is like running a marathon” say a ton of people on the Internet who have written novels. …