On Being a Badass Writer
About
I’ve been writing since my grubby little, grape Kool Aid-stained fingers could grasp a pencil. I sent a short story to The New Yorker magazine when I was 14 years old (ah, the hubris of the young!). It’d be great to tell you that I was such a child prodigy that my story was accepted and published – by THE NEW YORKER! – but it was not. That didn’t stop me. In those pre-internet days, rejection letters came by snail mail, and I amassed quite a collection of them, which I kept in an empty Macanudo cigar box. The growing pile of no-thank-you letters was almost a point of pride for me. I was getting rejected. That meant I was a real writer!
Fortunately, my writing improved. My work got rejected less and accepted more. That’s what happens when you keep at it. That’s what’ll happen when YOU keep at it.
(On a completely random note, scroll down to hear a song I wrote and sing with my band, McLaughlin’s Alley.)
What I write
I do both creative writing for myself and less-than-creative writing for others. Both have earned me money. Money is good. I’ve written:
- Novels
- Web pages
- Essays
- Blog posts
- Short stories
- Long form articles
- Ten-minute stage plays
- e-Books
- Full length stage plays
- Nonfiction
- Screenplays
- Songs
- A memoir
Other work
In addition to writing, I’ve:
- Been a morning radio personality in cities all over the country
- Edited B2B magazines
- Been a personal assistant to a movie star
- Worked for the U.S. Census (which gave me some great writing ideas!)
- Taught broadcasting courses at the college level
Some of these experiences – such as the teaching and the radio career – lend themselves to the Write Like a Badass initiative. I learned to communicate in an entertaining and informative way. I also learned to give myself permission to be myself: unfiltered and uninhibited. You may like my style or you may hate my style, but you can learn from me. You, too, can be a badass writer.
What do I do for fun?
Well, writing is fun for me, but other fun things I do include:
- Being in a band (I sing, play instruments and write songs for McLaughlin’s Alley, a pop/rock/Irish band that plays gigs in the Detroit area. Click on image above to hear “Little by Little.” Yes- that’s me singing lead on it. www.mclaughlinsalley.com)
- Learning Italian (Come stai?)
- Learning ukelele and bass (don’t be too impressed; I’m not that good)
- Acting in local theatrical productions
- Spoiling my dogs, Emmett and Gilda, with toys, treats and tug-of-war
Write Like a Badass 