The essays in this book were written over the last four years and published in various, mostly small and obscure, publications. Their common themes are, now that I've seen them all together: Contradiction and Survival. Contradiction: I say in one essay that I've given up writing non-fiction articles (like the ones collected here) to concentrate on fiction. Then, in a later essay, I speak of shotgunning out 30 article proposals in 30 days. I also flip-flop and waffle on the importance of marketing and critique groups. This isn't because I can't make up my mind, it's because writing is a contrary, contradictory business. Which, for me, is part of its allure: not knowing what tomorrow may bring. Survival: Writing is a difficult, lonely business and if the 15 pieces here have served as nothing but personal pep talks they have served me well. I hope you enjoy them. At the least I've discovered a surefire method of surviving the pains, twinges and frustrations of writing professionally. I can always write about it.