Or maybe you don’t want to borrow your brother’s life story—you just need a few interesting details to deepen your protagonist. In that case, he loves pickles. So much that he will eat a jar in a sitting and drink the juice to boot.

A great advantage for every writer is that no one’s family is—or has ever been—precisely like yours.

These are the raw materials we as writers exploit to create lively narratives and real, complex and interesting characters. The sights and sounds of childhood, the awkwardness of adolescence, the odd mannerisms of a great uncle, that weird thing your family always does at Thanksgiving are what make you, you—and your writing, yours. Sometimes the significance of such memories will smack you in the face and elbow their way into your writing. Other times, you may need to think on it.

That’s where Family Stories can help. Whether you’re on a mission to re-write your family history or just need to find a word for the way you felt that time you saw Aunt Bee in her avocado mask, we’re here to make it happen. 

Recently, I was ringing up a customer at work when I was struck by the sound of the electric adding machine. But why? After some thought, I determined that this was the sound of my childhood, if there was one. For years my father owned his own small business, and the sound of the adding machine would permeate the living room on most weeknights as he totaled the day’s invoices. Even at a young age, that sound—the various whirs and tics of freshly inked ribbon spewing forth—became a therapeutic one. It was therapeutic for me as it meant Dad was in for the night. I imagine it became therapeutic for him, too, as the sound of money earned.

Now I am working on a short story that riffs on that sound—the adding machine, the sound of my childhood.

The beautiful thing about writing from memory, and particularly writing about memories of family, is that inspiration can strike at almost any time, can get you out of almost any writer’s slump.

In our last post, we discussed the idea of getting “stuck” as a writer, whether by loss of confidence, loss of motivation, or whatever! Next time you get stuck, I challenge you to write something about your family. Write the 400^th page of your brother’s biography. Talk about a time your parents embarrassed you—or a time you embarrassed them!

Dig deep, think about it. You might be surprised when you come out with some of the liveliest poetry or prose you’ve written in weeks!

Of course, if you’re looking for a more structured opportunity to write your family’s stories, we can help with that too! Just let us know.

Family Stories one-night class is on July 30.

“Humor is universal, it’s how humans survive the planet Earth.” –Kelsie Huff

I would have introduced this post with a gut-busting pun or knock-knock joke if I’d been able to think one up. That’s the problem with humor writing. Funny can be hardest to find when you need it most.

If you’ve ever tried your hand at writing comedy, you most likely know this problem. Something that sounded hilarious in your head suddenly looks like cricket bait on paper. It’s easy to get deflated when you’re feeling unfunny or uninspired. In these situations, it’s best to have a back-up plan.

I sat down recently with stand-up comedian, writer, and StoryStudio instructor Kelsie Huff, who offered some tips and strategies on being funny, getting unstuck, and finding comedy writing confidence.

Write, and write, and write.
It’s not glamorous, but that’s it. Humor may be uncomfortable because personal humorous tales come from vulnerability and you need to push yourself into the squishy scary darkness of that to find the funny.

Don’t think.
Improvise. The moment you try to “be funny” you’re in a bit of trouble. You should focus on specifics, vulnerability, point of view and the funny will come. The key is to trust yourself. And that’s the hard part.

Be yourself.
Humor is specific personal truth and as a performer if you simply show the audience how you see the world, it will be funny. If you stick to that basic principle, you can go off and do anecdotes, observations, puns, fart jokes…anything! If you are breathing, you are funny. Period.

Take a class.
Sometimes a class is what you need to spark that much needed fire. Classes also help break down the parts of your brain that tell you “You’re not a real writer. You’re not funny. You smell like expired goat cheese.” Also, classes, shows and open mics are all great spaces to find folks that are going through the same “should I/can I/will I anxieties.” Make writing pals. Having a support system is key.

Of course, these are only a few ways to find your funny side and spark your comic creativity. As you continue to write, you’ll discover what works best for you.  And when you do, we’d love to hear about it!

Stories matter.

That’s the point Jill wanted to drive home when she approached me recently about editing Cooler by the Lake. Stories are the building blocks underlying the human condition and have shaped volumes of human communication, both past and present. Cave paintings, folk music, bedtime stories, dinner conversations, cover letters, and some of today’s most cutting-edge marketing techniques are either defined by, predicated on, or inextricably tied to stories and the art of storytelling.

No matter where you are or what you are doing, there are few better ways to captivate and connect with your audience—to catch and hold their attention—than telling a great story.

We hope that Cooler by the Lake can become a valuable writing and storytelling resource for you, as a writer, poet, businessperson, or whoever you might be!  We’ll be working our hardest not only to show you why we believe stories matter, but also to provide the right tools to make you a better storyteller, personally and professionally.

We’ll feature:

• StoryStudio Voices
  Student and instructor perspectives on the writing process, performance, literary successes and failures, first-times, and more!

• Writing Tips
  Follow along as StoryStudio veterans offer helpful hints on everything from finding confidence and being funny to making writing a part of your daily routine.

• Event Spotlights and Local Lit News
  Stay connected to StoryStudio and the Chicago lit scene.  Get event previews, recaps, and commentary, and hear our thoughts on Chicago’s biggest literary newsmakers.

• Words for Work
  Learn how storycraft can help you persuade your boss to let you bring the dog to work, or how clear and concise communications can convince a client to hire you.

Bookmark us now, and be sure to check back each Tuesday as we post new stories, conversations, how-to’s, and more.  We promise you won’t regret it.

Because stories really do matter.

.

• Official events like author talks, celebrity visits, dinners with writers, and all-star story hours are hosted in fifty cities across America

• A Children’s Choice Book Awards Gala is held to celebrate children’s books, and the proceeds go to a chosen charity.  This year, the gala benefits Every Child A Reader a not for profit organization dedicated to instilling a lifelong love of reading in children.  The award winners are chosen by an open, online voting process at bookweekonline.com, which is cool because actual readers have a shot at voting for their favorites.

• Every year, a new (amazing) illustrator is chosen to illustrate the poster and bookmark.  This year, the poster is illustrated by Brian Selznick and the bookmark is illustrated by Grace Lin.

If you are anything like me, this kind of celebration totally geeks you out because children’s books are transformative.  They are our first opportunity to wear the invisible cloak that only a fictional character provides – to feel, to grow, to grieve, to travel, and to love, all from the safety of our living room chair (or treehouse, bed, library nook…whatever floats your own reading boat.  Yes, maybe read in a boat!)

My favorites list is a long one but I’ll give you a sample:

1. Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon: This book is the first one that comes to mind when I think “favorite picture book.”  It has everything a great story needs; a fabulous heroine, a big challenge to overcome, a kind and loving mentor, and a great twist to provide a satisfying ending.  Moreover, it’s a story about a seemingly powerless person triumphing over a bully.

2. The Recess Queen: This story is about bullying too, but it’s done in rhyme and includes a dash of madness in the illustrations and interactions between characters.  It invites a bit of playfulness into a topic often fraught with anything but fun.

3. Knuffle Bunny: Mo Willems used to be a stand up comic.  If you look at the mastery in how he uses punch lines throughout his work, it shows.  This book resonated with children and parents because it’s a perfect balance between the exhaustion of parenting and the devotion children often have for a beloved toy.

4. This is Just to Say: I loved this one so much that I ended up adapting it for the stage!  What is beautiful about this book, aside from the lovely poetry, are the stories of apology and forgiveness.

5. Sam’s Sister: This may be total self-promotion but why shouldn’t one of my favorite picture books be one that I wrote?  The book is about the pain and beauty of open adoption.

What are your favorite children’s books?

Juliet C. Bond is a writer and instructor at Columbia College in Chicago.  Her first picture book, “Sam’s Sister,” was published in 2005.  Last year, she collaborated with Newbery winner Joyce Sidman to publish the stage adaptation of “This is Just to Say.”  Juliet’s shorter works can be found in SCBWI’s, “The Prairie Wind,” “Chicken Soup for the Soul” and at Citymusecountrymuse.com.   Juliet serves as the Welcome Coordinator for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, in Illinois.  She has had the pleasure of working under the tutelage of award winning authors like Jane Yolen, Audrey Niffinegger, Jane Hamilton, and Laurie Lawlor.  Please join her this summer at StoryStudio for an intermediate class on children’s book writing. 

StoryStudio Assistant Director Molly Backes put together a small and mighty army of volunteers to meet at the river by the Lincoln Village shopping center. We joined Friends of the Chicago River (the organization that organizes this annual event) Board Member Jackie Loewe and about 15 other volunteers. After the obligatory morning donuts were eaten, we grabbed our trash bags and fanned out to pick up bottle caps, cigarette butts, coffee cups, straws, paper, candy wrappers, the odd sweater, and other bits of refuse.

Toward the end of the morning, as the winds picked up, I had the distinct pleasure of planting some impatiens and asparagus plants around the river bank. This particular spot runs along a bike path that I frequent. A few weeks from now, when summer is in full swing, it will be a perfect spot to stop and catch my breath, and look for my wild asparagus stalks guarding the water nearby.

Learn more about Friends of the Chicago River.

For our April “Gives Back” effort, we’re partnering with Edgewater’s Community Glue Workshop, an organization that specializes in repairing and rehabilitating items that might otherwise end up in the landfill.

On April 21st, StoryStudio Chicago will host a Community Glue repair clinic right here in our Chicago studio! We’ll provide the space for a great exercise in sustainability and community-building as our handiest friends and neighbors volunteer their time, skills, and tools to repair one another’s broken or weathered belongings.

At StoryStudio, we appreciate efforts in sustainability (that’s why we compost, limit paper usage, and keep the lights off when we can!), and we are thrilled to play a part in making our community greener.

A young organization—it hosted its first repair workshop last year—Community Glue dedicates itself to reducing material consumption by “prioritizing repair over replacement.” Inspired by Amsterdam’s “repair café” movement, Community Glue’s no-cost repair clinics provide an important service not only to the environment, but also to our local community.

“The community element is hands-down my favorite part of Community Glue Workshop,” says co-founder Ally Brisbin. “We get a nice mix of ages and backgrounds at the events, and there are always new faces. We have formed a nice little group of volunteer fixers, and we’ve all grown to be friends. Newcomers are welcomed warmly, and it is always a great time. It’s a productive and rewarding way to get to know new people.”

In the months since its inception, Community Glue Workshop participants have worked together to tackle projects of all sizes—from fix-ups needing only a few turns of a screw to total reassemblies that take a whole day and a lot of hands to get the job done: “The biggest project was probably a toaster oven that someone brought in with a replacement heating element. It took the full 3 hours of the event and the help of 4 volunteers as well as the oven’s owner to get it working, but it was successful!” Other projects at Community Glue repair clinics have included everything from lamps (and lots of them) to garage door openers, squirt guns, and jewelry.

As a community-minded initiative, Community Glue Workshop does not limit who attends workshops or what type of fix-it projects participants bring with them (although Brisbin says that non-biodegradable items such as electronics and plastics are especially important to repair).

“Everyone should come to our repair clinics,” says Brisbin. “I like to think that everyone has something to contribute. Even if you wouldn’t be the first person your neighbor would go to if they needed something repaired, you might be able to see a problem from a different perspective and figure out how to fix it. Education is another important element of our initiative—we’re all learning from each other.”

StoryStudio will host a Community Glue Workshop repair clinic in our Chicago Studio on April 21^st from 4pm to 7 pm. We encourage all of our friends, students, and neighbors to collaborate with us on what should be a fun, productive, and rewarding Sunday afternoon.

For more information on how to attend, visit our StoryStudio Gives Back event page.

If you have additional questions about StoryStudio Gives Back or this month’s event, feel free to give us a call at 773.477.7710 or drop us an email at info@storystudiochicago.com

I felt a bit like a know-it-all on my first day of Creative Writing I at StoryStudio. During our ten minute break, a student gripped the bathroom key, attached to a spatula with a paperclip, and read the sign taped nearby with a look of horror: Women’s: Across the hall, up the stairs, to the left. I understood what was going through her mind—wait, which staircase?  Which hall? The first left or the tenth?—StoryStudio is nestled in a building that can feel a bit like an industrial labyrinth, a blend of wide open spaces and stairs leading to nowhere, infinite hallways and mysterious rooms jutting out from all sides. “I’m going to the bathroom too, and I know how to get there,” I said. “I can show you!”

The same thing happened five minutes later, as four of us clustered around the electric water boiler, complimenting jewelry and discussing our fears for our eventual workshops. The pot resolutely refused to boil—the switch at the bottom remained the blazing I’m-not- ready- to- drink -yet-blue, one minute, two minutes, three minutes later. “Do you think we have to turn it off ourselves?” someone finally asked. “Nope!” I answered. “It turns off on its own when it’s finished boiling, it just takes some time when it’s so full.”

I hadn’t taken a class at StoryStudio before and I wasn’t some strange StoryStudio stalker, who snuck into the office at night to memorize directions and learn the inner workings of the appliances. Rather I was (well, am) a Work Study student, meaning that I work at the studio one night a week to pay for my class—manning the desk, decorating the whiteboard, organizing the studio, and, yes, preparing the hot drinks and answering questions, restroom-location-related and otherwise.  In essence, being chipper and knowledgeable.

I find my Tuesday nights Work Study to be the perfect foil for my Thursday class—in general, Tuesdays are all about answers while Thursdays, apart from the break-time logistical knowledge, are all about questions (the chipperness remains constant, though—my classmates are a lovely group of 12 women ranging in experience, age and goals).

In Creative Writing I, we’re always asking ourselves (and each other) questions about our writing. Sure, we all know what tone is, but how would be actually define it in words? Why do we like Jamaica Kincaid’s style in her short story “Girl,” or why don’t we? Why do we think she repeated the phrases she did, and what’s even going on, plot-wise? What feelings does the story evoke? What are the images and symbols in Robert Frost’s poem, and how to we use imagery in our own writing? At what point do we even start thinking about that? Do we like to write in the morning or at night? In a coffee shop? All alone in a noiseless room in sweatpants and slippers? Do we have a writing process, and do we need one? How do we overcome the paralysis of over-thinking but simultaneously write with intention? What do we write about?

While many of these questions we discuss out loud, plenty of them run in my head, too. What is this scene adding? What would someone do when they’re being mugged in a parking lot, what would they say when their mother comes to visit for the first time in five years, what would they look like if they covered their face in toothpaste? How on Earth should this short story end? Will my classmates think I’m a good writer? Am I a good writer?

Mentally exhausting! But also mentally wonderful. I love that every week I can go somewhere and engage with such a strong and diverse group of writers, and that we’re all working together with our instructor to become better, more consistent and more confident. All of the grappling, probing and examining we do, both inside the classroom and out, is as essential to writing as a pen and paper (or, for a more time-appropriate analogy, a working laptop).

So what do I like better—the comfort of having all the answers, together with a cup of coffee and a snack-sized chocolate bar if it’s near a holiday, a whiteboard marker in hand if I’m really lucky?  Or the discomfort of being a questioner, being questioned? As is expected, I have to go with the latter. My Tuesday Night “Ms. Competent” identity eases me in, but the muffled sounds of the voices in the nearby classrooms make me antsy for Thursdays, when I get to tackle the questions that a lot harder—and a lot more rewarding.

Tell us a about your book! What made you decide to start a project memoir?

My book, MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend, is about how hard it is to make new friends as an adult, and the year I spent going on “friend-dates” in hopes of finding The One. It weaves the latest research in the science of friendship with my adventures going on 52 dates over the course of a year. I have always loved project memoirs–books by AJ Jacobs, Gretchen Rubin–there are so many good ones out there. But the reason I launched this project, truly, is because I needed more local friends and I’m the kind of person who responds well to a structured challenge.

Once I decided on my quest, I realized there weren’t many books out there about the difficulty and total awkwardness that accompanies making friends as an adult. There’s a lot of friendship self-help out there, but there didn’t seem to be anyone’s account of having been through what I was going through. And I knew, from talking to other women, that I wasn’t the only person out there dealing with this.

How much did you know about publishing as you started the process of pitching your book?

Not that much. Well, not that much about book publishing. I had worked in magazine publishing for a few years, so I had a handle on that business, but it turns out the two are very different.

I do think it helped to have a sense of how any type of publishing worked — and I’d done some work with excerpting books for the magazine I worked for– but as to how to sell your book to a publisher? I had pretty much no idea. I did a lot of research, and asked for help from a lot of people. I threw myself into it, though, and really enjoyed learning the process of querying agents, working on proposals, and pitching publishers.

Was it difficult to make the transition between writing articles and a book length project?

Well, there’s certainly a difference between writing 500 or 1,000 word articles and writing a book. But being an avid reader certainly helped. When editors wondered if my story might work better as a magazine article, I already had a sense of how I thought the book would play out — that there would be enough growth and narrative arc to sustain a book.

Being a freelance writer has been wonderful for my book writing in that I’ve met a lot of interesting people, and you never know who will end up in your next book! Freelancing also affords me a more flexible schedule, thus giving me more time to work on another book. But, of course, there’s the constant struggle to balance the short-term freelance projects (the ones that pay bills) with the long-term book work (which will pay bills eventually, hopefully, but not necessarily immediately).

What’s been your most interesting elevator pitch experience?

For me, explaining that I was writing a book about friendship is always just awkward. Conversations usually went like this:

Me: I’m also working on my first book, which will be out next year?

Other person: Oh! A book! What about?

Me: It’s about friendsip.

Other: Eyes glaze over.

Me: But not in a cheesy way! Like a smart, funny, honest book…. I hope.

When you tell people you are writing a book about friendship, they think of either really sentimental books with black-and-white photos of women holding hands and talking about the sisterhood of women, or really self-help stuff. And there’s nothing wrong with either of those, but they are so different than what I tried to do, and communicating that difference, quickly, can be tough.

If you could go back in time and give yourself a piece of advice as your began the process, what would it be?

It’s a long process. Patience, patience, patience. I’m still giving myself that advice!

Learn more from the delightful Rachel in her upcoming class Perfect Pitch: How to Sell a Non-Fiction Book!

We’re excited to welcome award-winning novelist Christopher Castellani on March 26 to teach Ready for Your Close-Up: Manipulating Narrative Distance. Castellani is the author of three novels, including All This Talk of Love (2013), The Saint of Lost Things (2005) and A Kiss from Maddalena (2003). An experienced speaker and contributor to several creative writing anthologies, Castellani is also the Artistic Director of Grub Street, which is sort of like the StoryStudio of Boston.

We caught up with Castellani (who’s gearing up to interview Tom Perrotta and Alice Hoffman at AWP in Boston this year!) to discuss narrative distance, the best writing advice he ever got, and writing versus housework.

What is narrative distance?
Narrative distance is related to point of view, but asks questions that are more nuanced than “is this story in third or first person?” The goal is for authors to calibrate the narrative distance that best suits the overall goals of the story. Every good book calibrates narrative distance effectively, and most readers don’t even notice it; in fact, if they do notice it, that means the author isn’t doing it right. For example, the narrator in Forster’s A Passage to India is almost God-like, which allows him a certain authority; it’s a very different narrator from the narrator in Howards End, which is more intimate, almost gossipy, and therefore better-suited to that novel, which has more domestic concerns.

You’ve taught this course a number of times. What makes you want to revisit it?
My conversations with students keep teaching me new things I want to share with the next group. The main reason, though, is I’ve never read a draft of a story that couldn’t be improved by paying more attention to narrative distance specifically, and point of view in general. I’m amazed by how often a “technical fix” like this can bring out the themes and characters much more effectively than the usual advice that comes out of workshops, which sounds something like, “I’d like to know more about that character” or “I couldn’t relate to the story.” As anyone who’s been in a writing workshop knows, that sort of advice is rarely helpful.

What’s your workshop philosophy?
I try to look as clinically as possible at story or novel, ignoring what I might know about the author’s background or intention. I treat the story like an x-ray, looking for its strengths and weaknesses, and then I try to come up with ways to build on the strengths and either mitigate the weaknesses or excise them altogether. (Yes, sometimes, most times, amputation is necessary…) There is usually at least one line or image or move a story makes that seems to “block” the overall goal or intention, and I try to identify that ahead of time and have the rest of the workshop join me in examining it. I see myself as a facilitator of a discussion, not the judge and jury. I try to help the story succeed on its own terms, not on terms I design for it.

What have your students taught you?
They’ve taught me how important it is to stay in the moment. Reading their stories, and discussing craft with them, always reminds me of the importance of pushing forward with a plot and a character’s development, of not looking back. (Of course I rarely take this advice, and my own work relies much more heavily on back story than it should, but you didn’t ask me if I actually practice what I learn). I guess this is a way of saying that my students inspire me to be braver in my work, because retreating too often into backstory can be a cowardly act.

What’s the best writing advice you ever got?
I read Richard Bausch’s “Letter to a Young Writer” target=”_blank” many times a year. Pretty much everything he says in that essay is the best advice a writer can get. If I had to pick, though, I’d say #1 is to read as much as possible, and #2 is to make writing your part-time job, with set hours, and do it at the same time every day. If it weren’t for #2 in particular, I’d still be working on my first book, waiting for inspiration to strike.

What’s your favorite procrastination technique?
Oh, I’ve got a black belt in procrastination. It’s so very easy to walk away from your story or novel, mentally or physically, especially when no one is paying you to write it, or when no one even knows you’re writing it. Because I’m something of a workaholic, though, I usually procrastinate by doing other work. In other words, I’ll cheat on my novel by answering my Grub Street email; or I’ll spend more time responding to student manuscripts as a way of avoiding my own. In this way, I get a lot of work done for the people who are paying me, but I don’t always get as much writing done as I’d like. Other writers say they procrastinate by cleaning or doing laundry; that’s one thing I don’t do. As anxiety-producing as writing can be, it’s always preferable to housework…

What are you working on right now, and what are you reading?
All I’m willing to say about my next project is that it’s an historical novel that takes place in Italy and the U.S., and that it has nothing to do with the Grasso family (who are the subject of my first three novels). As for what’s on my bookshelf, right now it’s Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers and Alice Hoffman’s The Dovekeepers; I’m interviewing both of them for the AWP conference and want to read as much of their work as I can beforehand.

You’ve written three novels. Does it get easier each time?
Oh, I wish. For me, writing gets more and more difficult and mysterious. The more I do it, the less I understand how it happens, or where it comes from. The more intentional I get with the story I want to tell, the more resistant that story is to getting told.

The only aspect of writing that’s easier now than it was in 1999, when I wrote my first novel, is that I understand a little better the implications of the craft choices I make in my drafts. For example, getting back to narrative distance, I can tell you that these days I can more easily recognize when the point of view isn’t working in the story I’m trying to tell. But recognizing the problem doesn’t always mean you know how to fix it.

This is why writers need objective readers with sharp eyes and ears. I rely on my writer friends more than ever to teach me about the draft I’ve just written, to show me the x-ray and give me the good news and the bad news.

Where are you from?

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin (or Door County, for the uninitiated.)

What brings you to StoryStudio?

I’m currently pursuing a Masters degree in Writing and Publishing at DePaul University. StoryStudio offered a great opportunity to earn some credit toward my degree, to gain valuable work experience and, most importantly, to be around other writers and the writing process. Nothing motivates me as a writer like seeing others write, talking about the process and otherwise feeding off of good, writerly energy. An added bonus is that I am able to learn a good bit about the business-side of writing.

Top five favorite authors:

Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain, Bill Bryson, Charles Bukowski, Jonathan Swift, Joyce Carol Oates

Book you’re an evangelist for:

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

Favorite line from a book:

“Crows back then were classified as enemies of mankind.  Given half a chance, they would eat our corn.” -Kurt Vonnegut,Timequake

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

Book that changed your life:

Lois Lowry’s The Giver, long ago.

What are you reading now?

Hollywood by Charles Bukowski

What do you write?

Most often I write creative non-fiction. Being able to share my own stories and perspectives in a way that is entertaining or uplifting to others is probably the most rewarding part, for me, of being a writer.

Where do you write?

I write at home. I am easily distracted, so when I sit down to write, the TV and music get turned off and I work in silence. When I get stuck, I stand up and pace around the kitchen until I am unstuck.

Have you ever written in or been influenced by other styles or genres of writing? (Memoir, poetry, playwriting, etc?)

I have a sort of fascination with prose poetry, so bits of that creep into my writing. I’ll write dialogue, for instance, but I try to do it in a way that gets around quotation marks wherever I can.

What’s your favorite procrastination technique?

What is my favorite way to procrastinate?  Having internet access is a huge impediment to my productivity.

Tell us about one piece of writing you’ll never show anyone.

I’ll show people mostly anything I’ve written, excepting old and desperate musings on love.

Do you read while (before/during/after) you’re writing? If so, what?

I generally don’t read immediately before I write. I’ve found that, when I do, I wind up mimicking and my voice gets lost.

What are you working on now?

I’m currently working on building and writing content for a sports humor website called The Sports Pulp. Writing parody and satire has been a creative release for me since High School or earlier, so developing this website is turning out to be a great outlet of expression.

What’s the best writing advice you ever got?

“Think small.”