Catch Me Outside (This Site)

Mpepper/ September 21, 2023/ Uncategorized

I don’t have a Linktree or whatever. I probably should. It would be a lot easier to point everyone to something like that. But for now, this post will have to do. If you want to find me online, my Contact M page (at the top of this site) has that info, too. But if you want to buy my

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Social Engagement

Mpepper/ September 19, 2023/ Think Pieces

Being ignored wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to you as a kid. It was, one supposes, better than being actively bullied. But with the rise of social media and the emphasis on engagement, being ignored can feel like being buried alive. As I work through a few personal issues, I’ve come to realize that feeling like an outcast—something

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2023 Reading Bingo

Mpepper/ January 1, 2023/ Uncategorized

As promised in my most recent YouTube video, here is the bingo card for this year’s reading challenge:

Unpopular Opinion

Mpepper/ September 19, 2022/ Think Pieces, Writing

One of many, to be sure. But I have to admit, I’m struggling. I love me some Stranger Things, so much so that I wrote a story loosely based on Steve and Eddie (#steddie) that has since become my most popular work. (The sequel is due out in November, so go pre-order “One Night in Wyland High.”) All this to

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Why I Don’t Read Reviews*

Mpepper/ April 21, 2021/ Think Pieces

*Of my books, anyway Once, while at a writing conference, I heard author Charlene Harris say: “Never read your reviews. That is a poisonous pit.” And I agree. Over time I’ve learned that, if I read a good review of one of my books, I’m happy for a little while. But if I read a bad one, it stays with

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Writers as Competition?

Mpepper/ January 29, 2021/ Think Pieces, Writing Advice

I came late to Twitter’s “Harsh Writing Advice” trend, but apparently someone posted that other writers are your competition, and then got slammed, and then deleted the tweet, but of course (because Internet) it’s still around in various formats. People piled on this guy for posting this, and… given that he didn’t really explain his logic (if there was any),

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The Two-Way Street

Mpepper/ January 26, 2021/ Think Pieces

A couple years ago, a literary agent was very interested in one of my manuscripts. I, naturally, was excited about this. But then, quite suddenly it seemed, she grew a bit cold in our correspondences. Eventually, I was given a form rejection. I have a private Twitter list where I keep all the agents I’ve been querying. I add and

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Art/Artist

Mpepper/ July 17, 2020/ Uncategorized

I have a degree in cultural media studies. What that means is my university didn’t have a screenwriting degree track, so I had to do “cultural studies” and then focus on screenwriting since that’s what I really wanted to do. But what that also means is that I learned fascinating ways to look at media, “read” it, dissect it, discuss

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