Before the ball dropped on 2020, I took a minute to put some respeck on 2019. It was a challenging year for me personally (I worked out some ish in therapy) and professionally (I asked for abundance and then felt overwhelmed). But I’m thankful for all of it, even the times when I stumbled (literally […]
New Year’s Challenge: Pick One Word to Define 2020 Read More »
Weeks after Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us (a series about the Central Park Five) debuted on Netflix, folks are still talking about it. And DuVernay tweeted that more than 23 Netflix million accounts worldwide have seen the series—making WTSU, the most watched program in the streaming service’s history. Let that marinate for a hot second.
Here’s How I Used My Memory to Write About the Central Park Five Read More »
When I write for ESSENCE, I cover entertainment but I have been dying to cover relationships for them because I am fascinated by how people stay together, why they break up and what they argue about etc. (I also have this unhealthy obsession with Divorce Court too. If you thought your relationship was jacked up, you
How to Interview 4 Diverse Couples Without Losing Your Mind Read More »
If you haven’t heard, you can flip a book into a business or at the very least, a few additional streams of income to secure the book bag. Back in the day authors were just obsessed with how many books they sold and charting on a best sellers list, but these days a book can
Four Ways to Secure the BOOK Bag Read More »
If you started the year with a laundry list of writing goals and haven’t achieved any of them, it’s time to hit the reset button and break those goals into quarterly buckets. This way, if you plan to finish an essay in Q3, you can spend Q2 polishing up the first draft and getting feedback
How Will You Achieve Your Writing Goals in Q2? Read More »
As writers, story ideas are our bread and peanut butter. It’s how we pay for all the things, like Netflix, Apple watches and therapy to keep us sane. Shout out to my therapist for dragging me from the edge week after week. We cannot write for free. Don’t get me started on that. But even
6 Ways to Find Juicy Story Ideas and Dialogue Read More »
In an effort to declutter my life and only keep things that give me joy (what a novel idea, Marie Kondo!), I spent a few hours purging my shelves, donating books and browsing through old notebooks filled with old stories and ideas. Some of them were five years old. Cue the terror and nerves. To my shock
Break Up: Four Signs That Your Story is Over Read More »
So e’erybody is on this Keto craze and that’s cool and all, but is reading a part of your workout routine? If you are over there drastically reducing carbs, loading up on fats and hitting a weekly spin class while claiming that you cannot read a book, well you and I cannot be friends. You
Reading is SoulCycle For Your Brain Read More »
Overthinking is the grandmother of procrastination. I bet you didn’t see that on the family tree, but she’s up there next to grandfather Why Bother. And here’s something else that you may know but have forgotten, it’s the ultimate creative vibe killer, especially when it comes to writing. Somebody cue Kendrick: I can feel your
Overthinking is Procrastination’s Grandma (Tell Her to Go Nite, Nite) Read More »
What’s a writing niche? It’s that part of the sweet potato pie that belongs to you and only you because you are super dope at said thing. It doesn’t matter that five other people write about the same topic. You know how Verizon, AT&T and Sprint operate in the same universe and they brag about
Find Your Writing Niche Because: Your Work Ain’t For Everybody Read More »
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