Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get a full-time job with benefits. My parents always encourage me to write full-time instead of pursuing traditional employment opportunities. This is partly because they believe in my talent. They worry about my inability to afford necessary care through regular insurance. However, I know they used insurance from ...

First sentences are nerve-wracking. It’s the first chance someone has to judge your writing. My first creative writing professor in college told us a good first sentence is the difference between a piece that gets published, and the rejection pile. I reflect on this idea when I have a hard time getting into a popular ...

Sometimes, writing is like pulling teeth. The words don’t come. Every sentence is garbage. Advice always says, “Write a few sentences to get started.” Those sentences are “Who wants to read this, anyway? Why am I doing this? Can I crawl under a blanket until the ideas come?” Jobs won’t let you take breaks if ...

After a respectable passage of time, the Turkey crowd ribs John into dating again. They suggest a few possibilities at work, but John is not all that keen. His office mate, Dilish Adhikari, catches John tilting back in his chair to watch me walking down the hall. “Oh, you like Sunita, do you?” “Well, yes, ...

Anxiety is a friend of mine. Friend may not be the right word; we have a love/hate relationship. Why? Anxiety is a liar. The constant thread of information filing through my brain is anything but reliable. Since my anxiety is here to stay, it is my job to see the truth and speak logic into ...

I haven’t worked on my novels in about a year. My stories are a sensitive subject for me. Talent is subjective. Even though many people have praised my writing over the years, I have a hard time believing them. My motivation has been to write for people like me, or my loved ones.  Recently, a ...