She also endures. While most may view her vast readership as an enviable success, she struggles with Peak Content like most writers. Words are “cheap.” Publishing doesn’t pay. This realization forced her to reconsider her career, but she stuck with it, stayed frosty and hitched to the love of her life. She chose writing over a fancier car. She chose more ingenious means to generate income with writing as the fuel.

Her book Sin and Syntax took my feeble grip of English and tightened it like a vice. It is among my most highly recommended books on learning how to write well, to write with moxie and shake things up. It allows me to be wicked while good, mischievous while remarkable. She taught me to how to captivate through dynamic, crisp, clean language.

After reading Sin and Syntax, I realized language, at its core, can only express a subject performing an action. All other constructs and mechanics are scaffolding to this single feature. And through servicing actions that highlight ”states of being,” we empathize with the doer or taker and acquire genuine emotion. “John hits Sam.” Ouch, I’m sad for Sam and I dislike John. This is writing’s absolute power: it is raw existential energy with potential to mold the human psyche and ignites with a willing mind.

I cannot express the life-altering impact this realization made upon me. It may appear trite at first glance, but for whatever reason I had worn a pair of muddy goggles most my life and Constance lovingly wiped them clean. She also replaced the glass, put on new straps and bumped up the prescription. She enlightened all aspects of English grammar hitherto mysterious, be them prepositions, adverbs, passive voice, cadence or <place syntax paradigm here>. She covers it all and you will be better for reading her.

“You can’t force a metaphor. Sometimes you just have to mull things.”

In this episode of Bleeding Ink, Connie and I discuss her career. Her impact on other writers. How we can all benefit from an agile creative process, where mulling’s importance equals making. We discuss how she overcame her struggles, her latest work and where she’s headed. I am honored and thankful she agreed to guest on my show—these conversations are why I do what I do.