November 2021 — Most Popular Story (October) The #1 Overlooked Storytelling Device That Makes “Squid Game” Better Than “The Hunger Games” Most Popular Stories of All Time What If You Have No Talent? Here Are Your Options. This is Not, This is Not, This is Not Who I’m Supposed to Be The #1 Overlooked Storytelling Device That Makes “Squid Game” Better Than “The…

“Sounds like The Hunger Games.” — “Sounds like The Hunger Games.” That was my first response when I heard about Squid Game. Forget about the word “game” in the title….just the premise: a group of people trying to be the last one standing for fame and perhaps fortune. I’m late to Squid Game if catching a…

How to write smarter, not more. — It’s faster than “writing every day.” And arguably even more productive. And even though I’m a big believer in writing sprints, this isn’t it either. What am I talking about? I first heard about this idea from James Altucher and was unconvinced that it would work… But it focused my…

Recently, I was head of marketing at Friday.app and the company shut down. But in about a year, I was able to: — Recently, I was head of marketing at Friday.app and the company shut down. But in about a year, I was able to: 1. 5x traffic 2. 10x conversions As I go into my next role (announcing soon), here’s what I will focus on. What I will keep doing: Lean towards action: This will always be…

How do you start writing? Especially when you’re not a writer? — How do you start writing? Especially when you’re not a writer? I’ve written most of my life, and I’ve done it professionally for more than 15 years–including editing trade magazines, working in journalism, advertising, and in-house at companies. Here are my suggestions for how to start. Note: You might be feeling overwhelmed or lost, but don’t worry- there are plenty of…

Hey! — Hey! I’m building out a new site for Create Make Write: https://createmakewrite.com/ Pretty straightforward, right? Medium has changed a lot over the years, do a quick search on Medium and you’ll realize Medium writers love nothing more than talking about Medium writers. I’m bringing over a lot of my articles…

Not Minutes or Moments — I’ll admit it: likes and shares are a lot of fun. And it’s cool to see your writing and your voice grow even a little bit. But…are those small writing wins creating something interesting? Are you building your content city, filled with interesting places and sights to see? What Are You Building? Creating Your Content Citymedium.com Sometimes, yes…

The Game Has Changed — Velvet Underground is a legendary 60s-70s indie rock band that really paved the way for what we know as rock music today. They lived in Manhattan while Lou Reed and John Calewere trying to figure out how to make their artwork. They could crash at the Chelsea Hotel and not…

Some Thoughts on the “Wheel of Time” Amazon Adaptation — I had never heard of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series until I was teaching writing at a community college. An ambitious long-haired high school male was taking my classes for extra credit. “Can I do an essay on this?” and he slams down a huge copy of Wheel of…