Everybody Here is a Work of Art

Greetings from the 12th floor. It’s August 2026 and AI-generated Mitch McConnell proof of life graphics have become their own cottage industry.

What a world.

Also in this letter:

• Posts from July 2026

• WIP News

• Writing Advice

• A Parting Song

Monthly Posts
This month I continued my series on writing about all the things you know and finding stories in the life you already have. In these posts, I talked about observation, experience, learning, and beliefs, all good things to write about.

Throughout the series, I write often about trust - the writing process, but also your instincts. What you’ve observed is interesting because it is interesting to you. What you’ve experienced is worth writing about because only you can tell that particular story. What you’ve learned is worth sharing, because someone else may need to hear it. What you believe is vital, because it adds passion and meaning to your work.

Write What You’ve Observed
My Turn: What I’ve Observed
Write What You’ve Experienced
My Turn: What I’ve Experienced
Write What You’ve Learned
My Turn: What I’ve Learned
Write What You Believe
My Turn: What I Believe

WIP News

I finished another few chapters in the novel-in-progress, so I’m still on track for a fall wrap-up. No exciting developments, but no setbacks. I’m satisfied with a slow and steady pace for the work. I also did some forward-writing, looking ahead at key moments to make sure events aligned with what’s come before. I’m building to a significant moment and while that particular scene has survived through every iteration of the novel, some minor details have changed, based on the re-writing in the earlier chapters. I stewed over that chapter for a bit and came up with a logical series of events that preserves nearly everything I’ve already written and actually does a better job setting up the next chapter. That was a good moment.

Writing Advice
I follow about 30 blogs sharing writing advice and bookmark the good stuff. Here are some of the best posts from July:

• “How to Turn an Anecdote Into a Story” - Lesley Krueger, Jane Friedman

• “Using Absurdity to Tackle Darker Themes in Fiction” - Michael J. Seidlinger, Writer’s Digest

• “5 Ways Poetry Influenced My Debut Novel” - Talya Jankovits, Writer’s Digest

• “The Tyranny of Showing” - Donald Maass, Writer Unboxed

• “Write the Book You Most Want to Read” - Seth Harwood

A Parting Song
Seven years is a long time to wait for a new Madonna record but she didn’t disappoint. I’m not as rapturous about Confessions II as many but it’s a solid dance album. My standout track is “Danceteria”, a sweet piece of electro-pop with lyrics calling back to Madonna’s pre-fame days partying at the titular nightclub with Debi Mazar, Keith Haring, the B-52s, and Basquiat.

Listen on Spotify or watch the Confessions II mini-movie below. Come for Benedict Cumberbatch and stay for Gwendoline Christie.