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What do you do when you are in a writing funk?

I was feeling swamped by all my projects this week, and I tried everything to raise my spirits: the gym, a glass of whisky, and a book by my favorite writer. Nothing worked. 

Then, last night, I went out to a reading. 

I took some video, and I'll show you something if I get the time. The reading celebrated the literary journal, A Public Space, featuring an amazing list that included Ian Chillag (a producer at NPR's amazing Fresh Air), fiction writer Jack Livings, and my favorite National Book Award nominee, Jim Shepard. And a band, just to break things up... 

The event was hosted by kooky novelist Amanda Stern, who actually ended up cutting Ian's hair by the end of the night. It was a friendly, free community that I didn't even know existed.

If you feel swamped, hopeless, or writers-blocked, just go to a reading and meet some new writers, just like the Happy Ending reading series. Within five minutes of sitting down, I remembered why I love writing. That's all you need.