On taking care

“You should be careful with your bag,” Jessica says to me. “It’s heavy.” “I will be, sweetie,” I tell her. “And don’t poke yourself with that pen.” “I’ll be careful,” I tell her, tucking the pen in the bag. Not comparing her to a helicopter parent or pointing out that I successfully managed all of…

On expressions I will never use again

I’m on the phone with a friend of mine who lives in New York, and she mentions that she ran into a novelist she knows who lives down the street from her—“It’s New York, after all”—and I say, “Yeah, you can’t swing a cat without hitting a writer.” Jessica is listening to me and suddenly her…

On telling stories

You know, I try to give y’all helpful advice for living your creative life. I carefully craft action steps, things to do to help you in your creative work. And? And I get these gentle notes: “Well, it’s fine. Really. Really.  It’s just . . . they’re not Jessica stories.” Do you realize how much…