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I’ll be reading her book Year of Yes after I get done with Becoming Superman which so far…to quote the great Gray Davis from The Wire…”shieeeeeeiiiiiiiiiit…woah-and man I am right there though we grew up very different.

My mom’s took in foster care kids. Kids like Straczynski. His family’s secrets are absolutely stunning.

It’s amazing what commonalities you find when you get into these biographies of artists. Definitely will read (or better listen I’m using audible) the follow up book.

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I hope you enjoy the read, James.

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I love this. I started doing something similar a few months ago, but with my drawing and painting, rather than my writing. I kept a sketch diary for a month. At first, it felt like a chore, and I skipped quite a few days, but after the first 2 weeks, I started looking forward to it. And now I carry pens, pencils and sketchbooks with me everywhere, and create SOMETHING artistic every day. And I keep every scribble, to remind me how far I've already come.

Thank you so much for sharing this; I've always admired Shonda Rhimes' work, so it's really nice to read.

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I'm so glad to hear this spoke to you. I'm always on the fence when I find these pieces of writing wisdom, whether I should publish them, whether they offer enough value since my Substack isn't a place to just pump full of writer click bait. But when I agree with them, as much as I did this one, I ultimately can't stop myself from sharing.

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I totally get that. I think, sometimes, you can tell whether the person writing the advice has actually really done it themselves, and been through the shit, or if they're just rehashing clichés for clicks. Maybe that's the difference between advice and wisdom. I, for one, am glad you shared this one. And I may have to start Grey's from the beginning again...

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I’m reading her book, she’s amazing. And yes to all this.

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She and I share a lot in common when it comes to work ethic - also, we bought our first houses just a few doors down from each other (though she'd moved on to, um, *bigger* things by then).

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Oh wow! That’s amazing.

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I had stopped writing for the past three weeks or so, which put my head in a bad place. When I read the Rhimes quote this morning, I knew today would be the day I needed to get back to it. I was dreading it, though. At some point in the last month, I realized a big section of what I was working on needed to be reorganized, and with my brain in a chaotic state recently, I really wasn't looking forward to the structural work.

I felt every one of those five miles tonight, but I did get there. It's not always good stuff behind the door, but I don't think I've never *not* actually gotten to the door if I get through the five miles. It just takes longer sometimes.

Thank you for the push.

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You're very welcome, Aaron. I'm always so happy to hear that anything I published helped someone on their own creative journeys. Keep pushing yourself!

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