April 23, 2015 / Maisie Smith
“Our budget is a quarter,” they repeated firmly. I was working for an ad agency and helping a client prepare for an upcoming trade show where they would drop logoed pens into the plastic bags of passersby. Their budget was minuscule, their expectations gargantuan. “How about a pen that people will actually use?” I retorted, […]
read full articleApril 2, 2015 / Maisie Smith
“I just want to be happy.” They stared back at me, then sideways at each other and then down at their legal pads to make a few scribbling notes. “That’s it?” one of them asked. “Yes. My goal is to be happy.” More scribbling. That was the moment I lost the crown. Judges don’t like happy. […]
read full articleMarch 12, 2015 / Maisie Smith
“She’ll be sticking her head in the oven by age 55.” “Maybe she’ll get hit by a FedEx truck.” “Fuck her… she does drugs.” “Go fuck a gardener or something, bitch.” These were just some of the remarks I read when a famous blogger reached out to online friends regarding a comment on one of […]
read full articleMarch 5, 2015 / Maisie Smith
What do denim hiney shorts, an old-timey compass, a stack of musty books and a toddler eating an ice cream cone have to do with each other? The answer: absolutely nothing (Except for the fact that they were also the four images I used when I first launched my business website] When I flung myself […]
read full articleFebruary 19, 2015 / Maisie Smith
You don’t have to strap on a Kevlar vest and traipse notebook-first into an ISIS den to be a dangerous writer. Nor do you need to frantically scribble your thoughts while doing a free-fall from 12,000 feet. (That guy you’re strapped to… he pulls the ripcord. Right? Right?) Dangerous writing is courageous writing. Courageous writing […]
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