Adventures in writing

When Honesty Is A Lie

by Bill Brenner February 16, 2011 Addiction

I’ve figured out another reason for my sour mood in recent days, and now is as good a time as any to get it off my chest. Mood music: A lot of people have been coming up to me here in San Francisco praising me for being “so honest, open and courageous” in this blog. It was a similar thing when I was in Washington D.C. for ShmooCon a couple weeks ago. I appreciate those…  [Read More]

Am I Too Hard on Myself?

by Bill Brenner January 5, 2011 Addiction

A friend asked that question yesterday. I’ve certainly been accused of being too hard on myself before. My step-mother reads this blog and told me I should give myself a break. Steve Lambert, former editor of The Eagle-Tribune, said I was too hard on myself when I wrote the “One of My Biggest Regrets” post. Mood music: [spotify:track:0OXjHxbrmrkpvqudvzWlDR] The short answer is that sometimes I am, most of the time I’m not. When I was…  [Read More]

A Year in the Life

by Bill Brenner December 31, 2010 Addiction

This isn’t a post about New Years resolutions. I don’t need a holiday to make changes in my life. IT IS about lessons I’ve learned in an effort to make resolutions. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNUU8jHXLMg&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] There’s been plenty of unpleasant stuff this year. I’ve watched two marriages fall apart. We had a couple months where money was painfully tight. My recovery has never been easy. But that’s life. A big fistful of goodness slammed down on…  [Read More]

Editing the Legs Off Your High Horse

by Bill Brenner December 15, 2010 Adventures in writing

Erin and I were talking last night about the often shaky relationship between copy editors and writers. We writers tend to see copy editors as nitpickers who just want to make our lives harder. Copy editors tend to see writers as spoiled brats. But what happens when the writer is in the grip of OCD? Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR6HPzhlvoc&fs=1&hl=en_US] I usually shy away from posts about the mechanics of writing and editing because it’s all so…  [Read More]

One Year Later

by Bill Brenner December 6, 2010 Adventures in writing

A year ago today, I was feeling down. It was nothing unusual, because the onset of the Christmas season has a way of messing with me. But this time, I felt a special compulsion to do something about it. The result was this blog. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp8sDwwRokY&fs=1&hl=en_US] About a year into my recovery from serious mental illness and addiction — the most uncool, unglamorous addiction at that — I started thinking about sharing where I’ve…  [Read More]

Writer’s Block IS the Devil

by Bill Brenner September 28, 2010 Adventures in writing

It’s been a very long time since this has happened. And I don’t like it one bit. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OK1HRqP-fg&fs=1&hl=en_US] I have writer’s block. I want to write a new post here (I am, actually) and I have a CSO column to write later. I figured I’d get up at 4 a.m. and burn some keyboard rubber like I usually do. But the words didn’t flow like they’re supposed to. When you are a professional…  [Read More]

Writing to Save My Life

by Bill Brenner June 2, 2010 Addiction

The author on why he became a writer and how it shaped his recovery from mental illness and addiction. People often ask me how the hell I do so much writing every week, between the three-to-four pieces I do for my employer, CSO Magazine, this blog and a book I’m writing on the side. They also ask how I’m able to write so fast, especially during security conferences. At the Security B-Sides event in San…  [Read More]

Pouring Gas on the Fire

by Bill Brenner March 31, 2010 Adventures in writing

People in recovery often go into hyper mode, making up for time wasted in the grip of addiction. Mix in some OCD and here’s what happens… Mood music for this post: “Gasoline” by Audioslave: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_C4rV7x-Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&] I was talking to a dear friend this morning about the radio show I was pushing in my last post, SixxSense, and how the show’s host, Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx, has been a hurricane of activity since he became…  [Read More]

An OCD Diaries Primer

by Bill Brenner March 20, 2010 Addiction

A collection of posts that form the back story of this blog. Mood music: [spotify:track:19n9s9SfnLtwPEODqk8KCT] The Long History of OCD An OCD Christmas. The first entry, where I give an overview of how I got to crazy and found my way to sane. The Bad Pill Kept Me from the Good Pill. How the drug Prednisone brought me to the brink, and how Prozac was part of my salvation. The Crazy-Ass Guy in the Newsroom….  [Read More]

Blogs to Live By

by Bill Brenner March 16, 2010 Adventures in writing

Once in awhile, I like to flag other people’s blogs for you to check out. Because it’s not always about me, despite what my OCD-laden mind often tells me. I’m reading the following blogs a lot these days because each offers  a unique slice of life. Let’s begin: Scorpionic — This is my favorite blog of late, because the writing is raw and edgy, just the way I like it. It’s written by my old…  [Read More]

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