I had an old-fashioned quarrel with ChatGPT the other night.

Maybe it was one sided. I yelled at him. He didn’t yell back.

I’ll call ChatGPT a “he,” along with 66% of the...

Each of us writes for a variety of reasons.

Some write to work out their pain. Others write as a creative outlet. Still others write to promote their business or nonprofit. The noble among us may...

Think about your favorite book or movie. What makes it your favorite?

It’s probably a combination of things—an applicable life lesson, jaw-dropping choreography and action, an intense...

I learned an important lesson about cohesion when we bought our 1923 brick bungalow 23 years ago and I painted my hallway pineapple yellow.

The color wasn’t a problem except its Miami-party...

We called it the “80% Rule.”

My first real professional job was as an assistant editor at a publication.

I acquired and edited magazine articles. I also edited books, since the...

My husband reads car repair manuals.

I’m grateful he has the brain to persist through that dreary copy—because when you own three used cars with hundreds of thousands of miles on each,...

Commercially viable memoirs are akin to novels. They engage the reader through storytelling techniques.

But new memoirists struggle to write an engaging story. They spend too much time inside...

Don’t bury the lede.

That is a principle that can be applied to many forms of writing.

It is especially true in hard reporting stories.

 In journalism, the “lede” or...

 I like to think of myself as an original. But, really, I’m a middle-aged female cliché. At least when it comes to the podcasts I tune into. I’m part of the 63% of women who...

“You need to hire a PR firm.”

“You need a large social media following.”

“You need to appear on radio and TV.”

Book marketing is overwhelming. Hop onto Google...

I don’t think you can really learn to write. Which is why few fine art programs in writing turn out prolific writers.

Mostly, you need to be trained to write.

You train yourself when you...

Before lockdown in March 2020, an HGTV producer (the team behind The Property Brothers) wanted to talk with me about developing a TV show around flea market decorating.

I’m not sure how they...