Generation Meh

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Category: Advice

  • Why Nothing Is Worth Waiting For

    Today, I was a guest on The Craig Fahle Show on Detroit’s WDET. We discussed this article and some of the wisdom from the speeches and how it could be applied to new grads or to anyone trying to figure out their balancing act (career-identity-relationships-carbohydrates). I jotted down a couple of points I thought I’d…

  • Why You Should Get Back To Basics

    Last week, I wrote this piece for the lovely Ellie Di over at Headology. And while I’ve realized holding a gun to my own head as a means of increasing productivity is a practice I need to ditch, the flip side of what I wrote there is also true –sometimes, you need to go back…

  • Why It’s Okay To Be Optimistic

    Sometimes, I give pep talks. Not the standard “He was a total bastard. You can do so much better!” ones. I’m terrible at those. No, I mean the “You are smart and capable and this situation can be successfully handled in the following eight ways” kind of pep talks. I gave one of those the…

  • The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Grease And The Best Opportunities

    Recently, I was talking shop with a fellow writer. She was filling me in on the status of a pitch she had submitted the month before. It ended up that the outlets she targeted had already filled their editorial calenders for the month, but at least one of those publications was so impressed with her…

  • How To Put An End To It

    I received an avalanche of questions in response to this post, so we’ll pick away at the queries over time. First up: “When working on a project, how do you know when to stop?! I could go on editing forever. I’m never completely satisfied, I think I’m done, but then I wake up the next…

  • Ask Me Anything . . . About Writing

    I opine about the nuts and bolts of writing over at Forbes pretty regularly (Andrew Sullivan is a fan!), as well as field writing-related questions via social media and email. I answer these questions individually and I sometimes regret that I don’t have the opportunity to share the responses with the whole GenMeh class. There’s an easy…

  • The Secret To Secrets

    I am good at hearing secrets. I am good at accepting them thoughtfully, like a present someone took a long time to choose. Holding them in my lap with both hands to make sure they don’t fall and break. It’s not very hard. I can teach you. In fact, it might be even easier than being…

  • Stop Starving

    I’m not a recipe slave. Even beyond the vegan thing and the celiac thing, I don’t feel obligated to hew to Betty Crocker if I have a better idea. If a dish requires onions or garlic, I leave them out. Ditto raisins. Double up the vanilla extract. Skip the coconut.  Mostly, this works or at…

  • Maybe You’re Ready And Maybe You’re Not

    I don’t believe in the laws of attraction thing, but I do believe that the energy you put out to the world and to others influences what you get back in return and in what manner. But not in the whole you are a magnet and good fortune is a box of paperclips kinda way.…

  • What You Believe About Yourself Is A Lie

    “I’m here to talk about ___,” I say with a big smile. “And I see you’ve brought alcohol,” one of the men at the booth remarked, noting the glass of wine in my hand. “Well, you didn’t think I’d just leave it on the counter at my booth, did you? You know who I work…