In many interviews with writers, this question almost always come up: What one piece of advice would you give to aspiring writers? My answer is unwavering: write every day. But I'm never asked the second most important thing a writer—aspiring or...

life lessons
Impostor Syndrome
I’ve recorded about forty episodes of my conversation series Making It Up, and I find it fascinating how different each writer is. Rarely do any two of my interviewees share the exact same writing habits and routines, roads to publication, or approaches to style. Yet...
I Remember
I write a lot about memory in my books. Good memories, bad memories, and especially false memories. My dad was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at the age of 62 and he passed at 69, so the horror of slipping into a milky haze of one's own existence has never...
“Not Enough Time” is a Myth
Not to brag (okay, maybe a little), but someone recently told me they were impressed by my productivity. The thing is, this person is the lyricist/singer for a band that's produced 15 studio albums, selling more than 25 million copies worldwide. So, a productive...
My 2021 To-Do List
Well, so much for hoping the flip of the calendar into 2021 would magically erase all the shit 2020 threw at the wall. COVID is worse than ever, murderous rioters descended on the US Capitol, and Netflix took The Office off its platform. Two weeks into this year and...
This Heat is Gettin’ To Me
It's hot and I don't know what to write. I'm just sitting here with a blank screen, blurry eyes and fuzzy brain, and I suspect this shit is just gonna spill out without a lot of filter. It's hot and I'm tired, and it feels like I never fully wake up on certain days,...
Notes from Other Authors
Hello, folks. How are you? You getting through these very strange days with ease or with struggle? Likely both, I imagine. Have you been connecting more, reaching out to those you haven't talked to in awhile, just to ask them the simple question you okay? Me too. Over...
Typos are good for the soul.
You ever read a book and come across a typo and think, how the hell is that possible? We can land a man on the moon, but we can't blah dee blah blah blah... Of course you think this, because I've heard from you. You just HAVE to e-mail me and tell me, don't you? I've...
Sign up for Carter's newsletter: Subscribe