62 ratings | 9 reviews | avg rating:4.00

Melissa Dahl’s Followers (72)

Melissa’s Bookshelves

to-read (37)
currently-reading (0)
read (106)
did-not-finish (0)
2023 (31)
2024 (1)

Melissa’s Friends (77)

Heather

3,032 books | 603 friends

Brandon

2,134 books | 81 friends

Arielle Betlyon

718 books | 82 friends

Mrbs

586 books | 57 friends

Loren Palmer

11,022 books | 2,290 friends

Sonya Vatomsky

0 books | 535 friends

Carl

41,927 books | 4,532 friends

Vignesh Ramachandran

884 books | 121 friends

More friends…

Melissa Dahl

Goodreads Author

Member Since

May 2009

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/dahlface

edit data

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Melissa Dahl questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

How do you get inspired to write?

Melissa Dahl I don't, really? I think this is a big myth about writing -- the idea that you have to be ~inspired~ to write before you write. You don't!!

We tend to …moreI don't, really? I think this is a big myth about writing -- the idea that you have to be ~inspired~ to write before you write. You don't!!

We tend to believe this is how motivation, or inspiration, works. You have to feel like working out before you work out; you have to feel like writing before you write. But is that true, necessarily?

I wrote a short post about this years ago for Science of Us -- there will be days when you are not feeling particularly inspired to write. That's okay.. You can acknowledge that reluctance -- but it doesn't have to dictate what you do. It is totally possible to not "feel" like writing WHILE you are writing.

Being a journalist really beat this idea into me. You just don't get the luxury of waiting for inspiration when your deadline is in a half hour. Sometimes I wish my approach to writing was more muse-like or magical, but mostly, I appreciate my workmanlike attitude. It gets the job done.

(I mean, there totally ARE those magical hours where some idea or inspiration hits you in a flash! But that doesn't HAVE to happen. You can still get the work done, even without that magic.)

p.s. Here's that Science of Us post: https://www.thecut.com/2016/04/this-i...(less)

flag

3 likes · like
Comment

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Melissa Dahl I just answered that question where I blathered on about how you don't have to feel inspired to write; you can get your work done even on the days you…moreI just answered that question where I blathered on about how you don't have to feel inspired to write; you can get your work done even on the days you feel uninspired. But sometimes you still need an extra little nudge.

On those days, I would set a timer on my phone for 45 minutes. I'd tell myself I had to close out of Twitter and whatever other nonsense I was reading online, and for those 45 minutes, I had to just WRITE, even if I was mostly writing garbage. I'd also tell myself that I could stop when the timer went off.

There is no science behind that number, by the way -- I just picked it one day and it worked, so I stuck with it. But I think it worked because it was enough time to really get absorbed in what I was writing. When the timer went off, I knew I was technically "allowed" to go back to goofing off, but i rarely did. Usually, I kept working.

Later, I discovered that I did not, in fact, make this up -- it's a version of the Pomodoro Technique. Whatever. It helps! (less)

flag

like
Comment

See 2 answers from Melissa Dahl…

Combine Editions
Melissa Dahl’s books

Average rating: 3.67 · 1,435 ratings · 195 reviews · 11 distinct works • Similar authors

	Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness 3.67 avg rating — 1,444 ratings — published 2018 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Prim Pause™: Love: Return to Self-Compassion 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Prim Pause™: Approval: Return to Self-Belonging 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Prim Pause™: Security: Return to Self-Trust 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Prim Pause™: Safety: Return to Self-Regulation 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Primitive Healing: Approval: Where Approval Seeking Ends. Self-Belonging Begins. 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Primitive Healing: Love: Where Self Abandonment Stops. Discernment Strengthens. 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Primitive Healing: Safety: When Dysregulation Quiets. Your Nervous System Heals. 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Prim Pause™: Security: Return to Self-Trust 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Melissa Dahl…

1 post
Melissa Dahl's Blog

New York! Come see me cringe at 92Y

Hey there! Later this month, I'll be at 92Y, talking about my book and things that make me cringe!!!

Katy Waldman recently wrote this in a piece (that barely, briefly mentions my book) for the New Yorker: "'Awkward' serves as pop shorthand for a slew of identity-related concerns: Who are we? How are we perceived? How do the answers to those questions make us feel?"

That's not a bad summary of the Read more of this blog post »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 03, 2018 13:53 • Tags: author-events

rss
Melissa’s Recent Updates

Melissa is now friends with Marty Wolk
Jan 05, 2026 12:18PM · like
Melissa and 164 other people liked Madeline's review of The Old Place: "This book is a Them to me. 11/10/22: I enjoyed The Old Place, though there were just like . . . two too many Big Reveals for my taste, I think. It's the kind of book that butts right up against melodrama and sometimes tips over the edge, as a result. " Read more of this review »
Jul 12, 2024 07:01PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Old Place by Bobby Finger. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Old Place by Bobby Finger <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Melissa and 420 other people liked Bobby Finger's review of The Old Place: "Why wouldn’t I simply give this five stars?"
Jul 12, 2024 07:01PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Old Place by Bobby Finger. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Old Place by Bobby Finger <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Melissa and 308 other people liked Bobby Finger's review of Four Squares: "My mom has read it three times, so. "
Jul 12, 2024 06:59PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Four Squares by Bobby Finger. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Four Squares by Bobby Finger <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Melissa's books…

Quotes by Melissa Dahl (?)

“If we are not regularly deeply embarrassed by who we are,” the philosopher Alain de Botton has written, “the journey to self-knowledge hasn’t begun.”
― Melissa Dahl, Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness

6 likes

“self-indifference is the relief of realising that you are simply not that big of a deal”
― Melissa Dahl, Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness

3 likes

“Little humiliations can bring people together, if we let them. The ridiculous in me honors the ridiculous in you.”
― Melissa Dahl

tags: emotions, psychology, self-help

3 likes

See all Melissa Dahl's quotes »