“I am contributing to your honeymoon fund on behalf of Michael Bloomberg,” he wrote. “Thank you for embarrassing the rest of us UNL School of Journalism grads.” I know I messed up. That’s why I deleted the tweet: to prevent the spread of my miscalculation. It wasn’t just that it was personally humiliating—it was also…
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I’ve always felt feminism to be like a block party: euphoric, emancipating, jubilant, and open to all. I often fear that many women in my generation think about it instead like a speakeasy: closed, password-protected, and open to the already enlightened. The narrowing of feminism has presented itself in subtle and not so subtle ways.…
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The first time I got to write a featured role for an Asian character was on a one-hour network TV drama. I was a staff writer and my showrunner told me he had an idea for my episode. “It’s about two sisters. Two HOT sisters. And they’re Asian. Like the Hilton sisters, but Asian.” I’d…
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If you’ve taken Fiction 101, you may be aware of the golden rule: Write what you know. CNN chief Washington correspondent Jake Tapper stuck to this idea when he wrote his debut political thriller—to an extent. The Hellfire Club is rife with Beltway intrigue and backroom deals, but Tapper’s leading lady is what kept us…
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Self esteem. It can be really cagey, kind of like trying to get my cat in her carrier for the vet. It’s time consuming and involves a lot of chasing and crying and determination—and just when I really think I’ve got it, she somehow gets one paw out before the zipper is closed. Then I…
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