Writing Is Hard So I'm Starting a Cult
Lessons from the orgy tent at Burning Man, why my new novel is being rejected, and how I'm turning a setback into creative momentum, and you can, too —>
CONFESSION
I was unlike anyone else in the orgy tent.
I was the only one fully clothed. And I was the only one with my arms up after coating them in the tent’s complimentary hand sanitizer which turned out to be lube.
“Wanna put those hands to good use?” asked one of the many naked men wandering past.
“Oh! You’re very sweet,” I said, stumbling, keeping strict eye contact as he tugged his nipple ring. “No, thank you. I’m not here for sex. I’m here for enlightenment.”
I’d been on an existential scavenger hunt my whole life, looking for meaning in church, school, career. Something always seemed missing.
Maybe it was the heat, the hunger, the dehydration, but I thought the high-functioning hippies of Burning Man had a clue. Maybe in the neon-drenched gay orgy tent.
I promised myself I’d stay five minutes.
At least I could say I did it.
Inside, red fabric draped toward a dim chandelier, mattresses were spaced along the dirt floor as if to the strict regulations of an orgy HOA, and—
⚠️ This is a threshold.
On the paid side is the rest of this story and *your* story. This isn’t just about Burning Man. It’s about all of us feeling exposed sometimes. That great things can come from being brave, and being rejected.
On the other side, I share the moment that changed me, and how you can test that shift for yourself.
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