My Process

A behind the scenes on what it takes to get me to write.

Literally this is Mariah Carey, but spiritually it is me.

I promised, when I started this newsletter, that paying subscribers would get “behind the scenes” stuff, which I have mostly failed to deliver on. (Getting a chemical peel is actually a critical part of my process, as is looking up what happened on The View on any given day.) Writing is so weird and uncomfortable and amorphous — until it’s fun and exciting, when the possibilities of the thing extend before you, when there’s no ceiling or floor, when you’re working on something that is so captivating and audacious that you’re laughing at every joke, tickled by every turn of phrase. 

But that almost never happens, and more often than not it’s kind of the most vexing chore. Anyway: here’s how it happens.

What Happens Always
I’m so excited! This is great. A dream assignment, a dream editor — a million girls would kill for this job, etc. I start prepping and researching and there are so many avenues and opportunities. I think of trial l…