Member-only story
POLITICS
How Did I Become The Queen Of Dumpster Fire Political Writing?
It’s helped me survive the overwhelming anxiety of watching our country descend into Trump’s insanity
All my life, I’ve been that cheerfully annoying glass-half-full optimist.
When I started writing plays about evil monsters for the neighborhood kids in first grade, the villains always had a secret heart of gold.
The baddies might look like they would swallow you whole and spit out your bones, but not when I was writing the story.
My unwillingness to play hardball with my words always blocked my lifelong quest to become a great writer.
My happy-ever-ending mindset annoyed the bejesus out of my endless parade of writing teachers, tutors, and coaches. One of my harshest English professors publicly humiliated me and told me to “get a grip.”
“Life isn’t all lollypops and roses, Msssss Carmichael,” Mrs. Steinberg barked in front of a cavernous lecture hall full of aspiring writers.
“Nobody believes in fairy tales or Santa Claus, but you.”
My shattered heart and river of tears didn’t blunt her criticism. “Maybe you should write true crime. It’ll toughen you up.”