The Infuriating Frenchman
Until this week, I loved everything I had ever read by Albert Camus. His essay, The Myth of Sisyphus, fundamentally changed the course of my life and how I think about the world. I remember reading it in the big bay window in my apartment in Sydney, the harbour’s northern waters lapping the park across the…
In Defence Of Writing Slowly
Recently a friend told me, very sweetly, that she wishes she could put out as much writing as me. She was feeling bad that a post she’d been working on for several days wasn’t finished yet, when I’ve been putting out a piece every day and delivering client work at the same time. It reminded…
Permission To Take The Day
Some days the words just will not come. They get stuck in your fingertips and pile up in your throat. It happens no matter how good you are. It’s OK. Let the day be what it is.One of the most profound gifts I’ve ever given myself as a writer is that when this happens, when…
It’s Just My Ego
Back when Covid took over the world, I decided that since I wouldn’t be going to live events any time soon, I had better figure out some other way to get my face out there. So I hired a podcasting agency and have proceeded to talk my little heart out on dozens and dozens of…
Why Am I So Wise?
I wish that subject line was a Laura original. Alas, it is not; it belongs to Nietzshe. This is the sad lot of writers; to spend their days wishing to have written something that someone else got to first. The reason I love this line is that how you interpret it depends entirely on your…
Secret Poetry
For years I carried around a grimy, secret shame that I, self-proclaimed writer and lover of words, couldn’t enjoy poetry. Every time I read a poem, I felt nothing. None of the sublime emotions that seemed to send other people soaring. None of the urgent, visceral power that seemed to shake them by the lapels.…
Want What You Want
One of the most humbling things about hiring great people is that they are going to be better than you at what you’ve hired them for.I hate this. I hate not being great at literally everything.But as part of trying to tame that particular part of my Hydra-esque ego, I hired Jacqueline to help me navigate this…
The Forgiveness Hypothesis
The ghostwriting client I’m working with at the moment startled me last week. He’s a scientist by training, an entrepreneur by calling, and a disruptive pain in the butt to a very conservative industry. I had asked him about how he deals with intractable problems and days where he’s fighting internal resistance. I was expecting…
You Belong To Yourself
Today I decided I would like to write a long historical investigation of our culture’s desperate need to be seen as selfless.I’m not going to; I have too many other books to write. But this obsession is inextricably woven into the fabric of our culture.How does it feel when someone accuses you of being selfish?…
The Bright Spark In My Day
Lisbon has been a big old moody sook ever since I got back a few weeks ago. Grey drizzly skies, 90% humidity and a persistent sense of malaise have made for some very slow-moving work days. But today’s work was illuminated by a big bright spark, and that bright spark was Athena Dixon. Athena was our…