A few thoughts and psychology-backed resources on changing toxic thought patterns for writers — One of the biggest parts of my personal development and therapy journies has been tackling the ugliest beliefs I have about myself. And that’s my identity as a writer. After a year of therapy, well, I can see where for a lot of us, the journey is more complicated than…

Creating a sincere meditation practice is hard, but we all need moments of stillness. — I’ve had a hard time writing about my journey with mindfulness. I started out as the anxiety-ridden soul on a steady IV drip of hustle fuel and exhaustion glorification. It may not have always shown in how I carried myself since I was trained from a young age to keep…

Musings on moving a lot, climbing the career ladder, and keeping a personal life along the way — I’m getting married next year. My fiancé and I just celebrated our eight-year anniversary; it’s an exciting celebration of our relationship that has been a long time in the making. Since we have been together for so long, we’ve changed jobs a lot, lived in three different states together, and…

A short story from the perspective of the walls that see us at our best and worst. — We see this girl in all her most grim moments. We pay special attention to how she doesn’t sleep nearly as much as she should. And oh, the things she does in this bed — she desecrates this sacred resting place with so much work. Working on the folding bright…

I spent the weekend with highly attuned creatives who helped me recognize a few things about myself. — I spent my weekend at the New York City Poetry Festival and had two dear friends come in from out of town table there with me. Another dear local friend joined us on Governors Island just between Brooklyn and Manhattan as well. …

While there’s a huge range of love poems, many glamorize unhealthy relationships. — I read a lot of poetry. If you also read a lot of poetry, this might be a question that’s struck you too. I was recently listening to a poetry craft talk from the poet Brenda Shaughnessy where she discussed phenomenology in poetry and intergenerational trauma. …

But the most painful writing prompts often have the most potential to make us think. — Writing prompts can have a lot of different roles in our creative lives. They can nudge us to broaden our creative horizons, get us out of feeling stuck with our craft, or nudge us to take a closer look at ourselves. …

I’m one of the writers who ended up empty after churning out too much. — There’s a flippant answer; got too busy with grad school. I started blogging in 2018, figured out what I was doing in 2019, and had a pretty decent quality level in 2020. Between 2018 and now, I published 550 pieces. You’re reading (lucky?) #551 right now. Then, for the later…

Even creative pursuits take their toll if you aren’t careful. — Even creative pursuits take their toll if you aren’t careful. As a creative, it’s common to feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks and ideas that are vying for your attention. There’s that amazing project on your to-do list that you’re excited about. Then there are all the “more important”…