Maybe There Will Be Cupcakes

Ginny Bartolone's Blog of Many Years

Category: writing

  • An Inevitable Turn Toward Craft: The Antidote for AI

    An Inevitable Turn Toward Craft: The Antidote for AI

    There’s a mental game I like to play when I’m out with friends. How many minutes will it take for ChatGPT to slip into the conversation? I’m not immune to the rage and anxiety that comes with AI showing up uninvited to the party—not to mention nearly every commercial during the Olympics—and nor should I…

  • The First Connection

    The First Connection

    Two Septembers ago, my husband and I sat at a long wooden table built for 12 in a hostel in the middle of Spain. There were only four of us at dinner that night–Ben and I, the owner of the hostel, and a man from Denmark who was volunteering there for the year. The pandemic…

  • A Freelance Writing Guide for the Coronavirus Shutdown

    Marketing writing is pretty ideal for the theatrical brain. Many agencies use personas or a target audience when they send you an assignment. It’s very similar to getting into the mind of a character if they were about to wander the internet to buy something.

  • Tips for New Freelance Writers: Avoiding Shady Job Posts

    Now in my third year of freelance writing, I occasionally catch myself turning down potential clients and invitations to interview for no discernible reason. I’ve been burned more than a handful of times–as many freelancers have–both before and after I’ve done the requested work, so I can be a little quick to judge. On one…

  • My First Full Year of Freelancing

    This is more of a practical post for a change. I’ve had a few people reach out to see how freelance writing was going, so I’ve written a a rundown of my experience in the first full year. Also, if you’re one of the many people who found this blog over the holiday season by…

  • A Book Without a Story

    I’ve found that writing a book about an incredibly long hike often mirrors the metaphors of hiking the darn thing itself. Look back too often at where you came from, and you get wrapped up in premature editing. But an occasional healthy glance at where you started reminds you of your progress. Last fall, I…