Welcome to the Tuesday tastemaker

Issue #48: Yep, Watching TV Counts as “Reading”—But Only if You Watch It That Way Read a Lot Series part 4/4 Four weeks ago, I kicked off this series with a famous Stephen King quote, from his book On Writing: If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot… there’s no shortcut. I work with a lot of writers who don’t really think of themselves as “writers.” At first blush, this might sound like head trash—impostor syndrome; a confidence issue,...

Issue #47: Don’t Believe The Hype Read a Lot Series part 3/4 This week I promised to write about how watching TV counts as “reading a lot,” even though Stephen King says it rots your brain, buuuut we’re gonna talk about Timothée Chalamet instead. The internets have been abuzz lately because uh-oh, Hollywood pretty boy said bad bad thing about opera and ballet! I realized I couldn’t talk about this without knowing what he actually said—and in what context—so I went clicking through a labyrinth...

Issue #46: The Easiest & Most Fun Way to Get Better at Writing Read a Lot series, part 2 of 4 There’s a famous piece of writing advice from Stephen King’s On Writing (still one of the best craft-centered writing books, by the way): If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot… there’s no shortcut. I think we all know that the first half of that missive is much easier than the second—yay! I get to read a lot! vs. oh noooo, I have to write (a...

Issue #45: Old books that still hold up and are not Wuthering Heights Read a Lot series, part 1 of 4 <bursts through your screen like the Kool-Aid man> HELLO, READER! I’m back with your regularly scheduled Coffee Breaks, and I’m kicking things off with a March mini-series that will mostly focus on reading—what I’m reading, what you should read (and why), how reading can make you a better writer, and in today’s case, the “classics” and “required reading” you get to skip. I’m skipping any...

issue #54: snapshots November 26, 2025: Day before Thanksgiving 6am. I blink in the dark and begin extracting myself from the heavy softness of weighted blanket and down duvet. In the kitchen, I brew my coffee while the cat looks on, groggy and perplexed. It is too early for both of us, and eventually he abandons me for bed. I roll out my yoga mat, because there has to be something between waking and working, and settle in at my desk. I have a goal today, and I will not be deterred: I’m going...

Oh hi, Reader. Did you forget about me? Did two-plus weeks of silence catapult me into the void? Am I floating in space? Different question— Does a short reprieve from constant content creation, a blip in sending consistent weekly emails, have a meaningful impact on your readers? Or have they just been living their lives, filling their days with zoom meetings and lesson plans and client work and dinner, just like you? I would tell any client or friend of mine this, and yet I willfully ignore...

What a weird-ass holiday season this has been, amiright? Something about this particular year ending is hitting different. It feels like there's a collective energy shift, which is such a woo thing to say but I mean it—a gathering close. A contraction. Pulling back all the resources, emotions, data, and spending that have scattered far and wide, and reevaluating where we want them to go. I've seen this in the "return to analog," which makes me chuckle because a lot of the people touting that...

issue #56:Christmas Blues All month long, Reader, I’ve been hearing a whispered mantra at the edges of my consciousness: “I think I might be done.” I heard it last week when I was vacuuming the apartment instead of inviting you to my birthday workshop. I heard it the other day, layering caramelized onions into the lasagna. I hear it when I go for walks, when I linger in the shower too long, as I ponder the year to come. Its soft drumbeat thumping out the rhythm of my days. And in its...

issue #55: This is what the “new economy” looks like Oh hi, Reader! First of all, have you seen Candy Cane Lane on Prime yet? It’s an Eddie Murphy joint that came out last December (I think), and it might have been the weed, but I found it incredibly stupid and funny in the best way. I thought about it the whole next day and laughed. Recommend. I didn’t come here today to talk to you about Christmas movies, though. Everyone else is already doing that, so of course, I am NOT! 😎 Instead, I came...