This Used to Be Us

by Renee Carlino

I instantly had the simultaneous thoughts, very common among writers, where you hear your own voice say, “I can write award-winning television in my sleep. I’m going to write the whole pilot tonight,” and “I’m a fraud, a hack, a talentless impostor.”

Writing can be like a coma, a blackout, or a time suck, where you produce very little, yet still feel emotionally and mentally drained.

Dani’s personality shifts from one extreme to the other. Either she’s mentally absent and floating around in her own headspace, imagining her stories, or she’s a busy bee fueled by nervous energy.

“You don’t have to keep up, you just have to stay in the right place. A place where I can always find you. That’s what home is.”

“You are my Times New Roman. The original, bold and classic.”

Love yourself, love your friends, love your family, love each other, love hard, fight hard to love, love your enemies, love all the great loves in your life and love them well, and you will be the richest men on this planet. Love is not selfish or perfect.

Marriage is a verb. You have to keep working.