We talk with Melissa Goldman and Daphne Strassmann, two members of a four-person team responsible for the amazing co-working community that is The Village Works. (It is an actual physical space, but so much more.) We chat about locating the mythical work-life balance, Marie-kondo-ing your life, the Process of Reprioritization, and avoiding the rabbit/wormholes of writing while there is an Internet. We also explore what is it like to reclaim the professional part of your identity as a writer, as well as what it's like to explore that identity while in community.

Suggested readings:

Beyond four walls: Treating a neighborhood as work infrastructure by Melissa Tapper Goldman

George Orwell's “Politics and the English Language”

Lindy West's opinion piece in the NYT “Brave Enough to Be Angry”

& check out the gold mines for working writers that are Nathan Bransford's blog here and Grub Street




















































Photo credit: Paula Luu, Houston Creative Space