Scents and Sensibility
I lost nearly all my sense of smell when I was eight. One day my socks itched and the next day I was allergic to seemingly everything including “all grasses in the world,” the grim doctor intoned, putting the kybosh…
Category: The Writing Life
When the Black Dog Bites: How to Write When You’re Depressed
The cliché of the depressed writer can seem almost romantic to someone who has never tried to put pen to paper or been in the thrall of senseless emotional suffering. But for those of us who wish to write, depression…
And So We’ve Come to the End (of the year, that is)
You won’t find a Best of/Worst of post over here at Dead Darlings headquarters. We’re too tired from writing and revisioning and meeting class deadlines. Instead we decided to toast the new year by asking our writing colleagues to lift…
Drunk Texting My Novel: When ‘Baby I Miss You Please Come Back What Went Wrong Between Us We Used to Have So Much Fun Together and BTW Are You Horny Tonight?’ is a Summary of Your Entire Revision Process.
You are living the dream. People like your novel-in-progress. Some even love it. You certainly love it, and know deep down that it will always love you back. There’s just one problem: Trusted Reader (who also happens to be a…
Gifts That Don’t Suck: Struggling Novelist Edition
Crappy holiday songs have invaded my Spotify country hits playlist. My Facebook feed is full of posts about shopping and mall parking and the Griswolds. Thinly veiled participation-intimidation tactics abound from Secret Santas and Yankee Swappers. Because I can’t manage…
Bedtime Stories
Once upon a lifetime that seems far, far away, I met a psychotherapist. She seemed nice enough. She asked me what I do for fun. I told her that I write. Let me just say, I was thrilled that she…