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…

My work space has undergone some changes in the past week as I seek to open it up and let as much light in as I can while there is still natural light to be had. The fading daylight is apparent and the cooling temperatures tell the story of the not-to-distant future. Fall is almost…

A drought of weeks gave way to thousands of words over the past couple of days. They are the kind that get me paid so they are welcome. Some of the subject matter makes my eyes glaze over and I feel my mind wandering while I am writing, but I will fumble my way through…