Quiet Rebel Writer

In researching my previous post, a special leap-year edition of word porn, I learned about a unique tradition assigned to February 29th. It’s this day where women across the world are allowed and encouraged to propose to their significant male others. This leap year tradition is treated lightly and jokingly, but it’s serious enough that […]

Happy February 29th everyone! Did anyone else read about how some well-meaning mothers, desperate to protect their children from the ravages of a birthday that comes only every four years, are going so far as to request a cork to prevent delivery? True story. Plus, I guess February 29th is the one day it’s allowed […]

The pain, fear and anger from these words are shocking, but necessary:
“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, […]

I’m not a massive fan of memoirs. There are some good examples (like this, and this), but sometimes this genre seems packed to the gills with middling stories and less-than-stellar writing. One winner that defies the rest of the field, with a funny, sad and sweet story combined with evocative writing, is Love is a […]

Hello again, readers. At the one-month mark for this here blog, I’m taking the opportunity to rework some categories, redefine my offerings, and generally plot out my next onslaught upon your eyes.
Let’s review. In the last month we’ve talked about rebellious methods for freelance success, and ways to nurture creativity, no matter your career. […]

I like me my lists of good links. So I want to share that joy with you. Check these out:
12 Breeds of Client, and How to Work With Them. Pretty comprehensive!
32 Must Reads to Ensure Small Business Success. Great round-up for all sorts of small businesses and one-person businesses.
8 Common Misconceptions about […]

On days like today, when the Chicago weather is shitty and it’s a Monday and all I want to do is hop back into bed, writing feels like a chore. The act of pulling words out of nowhere and making them into some sort of coherent document is drudgery. I’d call it a case of […]

Remember the deal? Let’s start this vocabulary lesson of wicked, wonky words.
Oppugn
Love the silent g. You gotta love any letter that takes it for the team, that puts aside its own significant coolness to make a word look and sound spiffier. Oppugn means to call into question, contradict, or otherwise oppose. Can we have […]

After four years of writing on and off, I finished my first novel last fall. It was a crazy feeling, a fantastic feeling, and as I toasted myself over the printed copy, I marveled at how pretty it was, all finished and polished and pure. Then I started trying to sell it, and the feeling […]

I became a feminist after reading Cosmopolitan. And that’s why I’ll never write for women’s magazines as part of my freelance career.
One day in mid-college I flipped through my latest issue of Cosmo, fresh from the mail. I was just exiting my ill-advised sorority phase, when I thought I wanted to be someone, anyone […]