HeyJaredWriters' Block Party | Iris Yamashita
A group of dysfunctional writers who have funny things to say.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 12
- Latest publication
- Sep 27, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 11, 2026
Latest issues
A TALE OF TWO NICKELS (opens the original)
Read excerpt
Back in the 90’s I was in my 30’s with a “magic mirror” that assured me I was still in my 20s.I had Peter Pan Syndrome. I never wanted to grow up or take on adult responsibilities—as mortgages, marriage & munchkins could cause premature hair loss and/or early dad-bod-itis.It’s no accident my parents named me Mr. Young.I took pride in passing for ten years younger than my age. Being “carded” was my “jam.” When I was 35, on a date with a 40-year lady, a nosy stranger whispered to me, “Is that your
Where Does It Happen? (opens the original)
Read excerpt
The single most common question any author gets is “Where do your ideas come from?”There is no right answer to this. No logic to it. Ideas are molecules that float around us, waiting to be breathed in. You can’t see them, touch them, feel them. They’re like stubborn dogs who never come when you call them. In fact, the worst thing you can do is to sit and try to summon them. Believe me, we try.Thanks for reading Writers' Block Party! Subscribe for free to receive new pos
Lost Places (opens the original)
Read excerpt
I’ve been thinking more about place – how it leeches into writing, what it touches and what it doesn’t touch. On the one hand, writing is a job like any other. We can’t be precious about where it gets done so long as, hopefully, it gets done well. On the other hand, a ton of wonderful writers have a kind of rootedness to place, even if they didn’t write from one particular city or region. It’s why we associate James Joyce with Dublin, Emily Bronte with Yorkshire, Haruki Murakami with Tokyo, Salm
Memoirs: Fact or fiction? (opens the original)
Read excerpt
A number of people I know have embarked on writing memoirs, especially among my fellow writers in my weekly Portugal get-together. A question came up as to whether memoirs are factual or fiction. Webster’s dictionary describes the word “memoir” as “a narrative composed from personal experience.” At a recent literary festival, Margaret Atwood talked about her book “Margaret Atwood: A Memoirs of Sorts” and when asked what’s the difference between a memoir and an autobiography, she explained that a
By any other (pen) name (opens the original)
Read excerpt
Folks, I did it. I finally have an alias. A pen name, specifically. A Nom De Plume. An alter-ego. A pseudonym.I have a new book coming out next year and this one is a bit different for me, plus I could use a reset and a fresh start, so it was time to put some else’s name on the cover. I have zero ego about it. I don’t care at all about it not being my name. My name isn’t great, after all. It’s fine, just not particularly memorable like most things about me, I’d say. But now I have to take my per
Publishing over time
Last 90 days. Choose a month to open its work.
Recurring subjects
Named in the text we hold. One piece can cover several.
Audience
No verified audience measurement yet.
About this data
Counts cover the work we have indexed. Tone needs enough text and a confident classification. Excerpts and episode notes are not full articles or transcripts.
Identity or attribution wrong? Suggest a correction.