Published inHuman Parts·May 2Member-onlyHow to GrieveLessons from little lives — The Rabbit Last month, my friend Jamie posted a photo of a deceased bunny on her social feeds. Was it awful? No:Grief4 min readGrief4 min read
Apr 27Member-onlyL.A. Times Festival of Books RoundupTips from writers in young adult, memoir, and satire — Even though I’ve lived in the Los Angeles area for over a decade now, and actually grew up here, I’ve never been to the L.A. Times Festival of Books. Part of that is just inertia: I’ve never liked driving to L.A., say. But I finally went this year, and I’m…Writing Tips5 min readWriting Tips5 min read
Published inBetter Humans·Mar 14Member-onlyFind Your Own Flavor of ActivismI’m a reluctant activist. Here’s how I found something that works for me. — I’m a reluctant activist. I’ve been to exactly one protest march, in the late 90s, when Matthew Shepherd was murdered. We were in New York. Policemen on horses corralled many of us into a narrow stretch of street between Grand Central Station and Madison…Politics5 min readPolitics5 min read
Published inZORA·Jan 29Member-onlyThe Gilmore Girls’ Inclusivity ProblemIt’s okay to love a thing. It’s better to love it when you see all its flaws. — (You can listen to me read this post to you here.) (Here’s the much-shorter TikTok version of this post. ) In the early 2000s, Lorelai Gilmore came roaring onto the small screen in a jeep, and comedy was never quite the same for me. A lot on the show I…Inclusion8 min readInclusion8 min read
Published inBetter Humans·Nov 21, 2022Member-onlyFive Tips for Landing a Book DealFrom micro-press to Big Five, there are more similarities than you think — Hello. I’m the author of three books, with a fourth in the works. (The third has a publication date, but isn’t out yet.) For my debut novel, I published with a press that only does one book a year. For my second book, a memoir chapbook (66 pages from end…Publishing4 min readPublishing4 min read
Published inHuman Parts·Nov 9, 2022Member-onlyHow to Pull Off a Personal Annual ReviewA no-fuss, intuitive way to take stock and map your priorities — Everyone! It’s almost the end of the year. It’s nearing that time when we arbitrarily decide we’re going to turn over a new leaf; start a new great habit. But so many of us embark on this process without once considering our baseline — where we’re starting from. I want…Life Lessons4 min readLife Lessons4 min read
Jun 10, 2022Member-onlySay This, Not That.Sometimes, we say things that are hurtful. Here’s what to say instead. — “That’s just crazy.” “How lame.” “I got gypped.” You may not know it yet, but these common idioms can be deeply hurtful for folks who suffer from mental health issues; folks who are disabled, and people of Romani descent, respectively. And yet, these phrases are common parlance in English. (We’ve…Inclusion2 min readInclusion2 min read
May 6, 2022Member-onlyFriendship on the Playing Field“Meeting someone where they are” isn’t just a buzzphrase — Courtney and I have delivered diversity and inclusion workshops together to organizations ranging from higher education institutions to major video-game studios. I know a lot about Courtney. We text at least four days a week, about everything from dogs to whatever our lives are throwing at us. Courtney knows a…Growth Mindset4 min readGrowth Mindset4 min read
Published inHuman Parts·Apr 24, 2022Member-onlyThey Told Us the Only Thing That Matters Is Being Number OneI know better now — You can listen to the Soundcloud recording of this post here. I sometimes think of myself as a failed experiment. My parents hoped I’d be valedictorian of everything, but my college GPA was a dismal 3.2, and I’m convinced I…Growth Mindset3 min readGrowth Mindset3 min read
Apr 17, 2022Member-onlyA Little Constriction Can Set You FreeWhile packing for a weekend away in a new-to-me location, I left behind my sketchbook. I wanted to see how I’d do if I only had my agenda to draw in or take notes with. I use a Hobonichi Techo with Tomoe River paper, which holds up a little…Art3 min readArt3 min read