And just like that, any illusions we may have had about the time of year have blown away with the first gust of the 40s. The trees join us in recoiling from the cold, seeming to shiver in anticipation. The clouds put on a moody display almost daily and I’m in love with the amount…

If today were the day I died, would it feel auspicious, inconspicuous, or like just another Monday? I suspect that for the overwhelming majority, it would go completely unnoticed, and I feel the greatest sense of loss about this fact. Not for anything I may miss, but that I may have had such little impact…

There it is, rearing up in me again, the screaming voice inside my head, banging senseless messages against all four corners of my mind. You must create. Make the world better with something you have made, or make something better until you do. Write. Paint. Draw. Burn something. Take a picture. Throw all of it…

When I’m reading a job posting for creative writers, I can sense almost immediately if the company or individual will list what the position pays. More often than not, they don’t list it. Or they dodge with the word competitive, hoping to get a free sample from you that they will own. A sample that…

It’s about to be October and I can feel the light leaving both ends of the day as we creep towards fall. It is apparent in my work space that I will need to make some accommodations for this dying light because it is starting to feel less like a workshop and more like the…

Over the last week I have completed four paid writing assignments in very good time, with a total word count north of 10,000. It is the first time since I’ve been doing this that I felt as though I accomplished something meaningful and wasn’t just grinding for the sake of it. I’m sure that I…

There are words that will only become available to you given a certain set of circumstances. I find myself pondering this now as I recall the times I have been swept up by inspiration and things poured forth from me effortlessly but with very little control. The only way to find out where the words…

The auto workers union and their corporate masters are engaged in a conflict that could sink the American economy and both sides have their heels dug in, unwilling to concede anything at all. Everyone at the table is being unreasonable and it’s fascinating to see this dick measuring contest play out. The manufacturers are doing…

It’s not uncommon for me to hurry other people along with details and tasks that I deem trivial or that seem unnecessary to waste time and effort on. This must make me seem like a real piece of shit sometimes, but I just place a very high value on my time and when anyone tries…

You’d have been 67 today. It’d be two years into your retirement on paper and I am entirely sure nothing would have changed. You’d be working every day because you didn’t know anything else, and I’d continue to fail to grasp why. It must be one of those things that we aren’t supposed to understand…